$2bn in new grant funding for US buses – if they’re not battery-electric

The US Department of Transportation has just unveiled a major $2 billion grant package for bus purchases and depot upgrades for more than 165 public transport firms. The catch? No grants are specifically being awarded for battery-electric buses.

Flyer h2 bus hydrogen usa california xcelsior charge fcev — Image: NFI Group Inc

The grants are part of an annual allocation provided to public transport providers under Biden-era infrastructure legislation. While earlier years featured substantial funding for low- or no-emission buses, this year, the grant list is overwhelmingly focused on other bus types, including ‘diesel-electric hybrid’ and compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles. The largest grant award of $121.1 million is going to the Chicago Transit Authority to replace 150 diesel buses with diesel hybrids, while the second largest grant awards $100.7m to Harris County, Texas to purchase CNG buses and build supporting facilities.

There is still the possibility that the grants awarded could be used to purchase battery-electric buses; around 28 grant recipients are said to be receiving funding ‘to purchase new buses’, without stating the type of buses to be procured. There’s nothing to suggest that buying battery-electric is proscribed for these grant recipients, although there’s also nothing confirming otherwise.

All this contrasts with the approach of the previous administration. Under Joe Biden, the 2023 grant list featured grants for around 35 battery-electric buses and additional infrastructure. The new list then marks a major change in priorities for federal bus funding.

There’s also no small irony in the fact that all this is based off Biden-era legislation designed specifically to modernise and decarbonise public transport – the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (2021) – but something that the current US government is now taking credit for while rowing back on the scheme’s prior commitments to zero-emissions.

For example, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said of the new grant program: “Delivering new-and-improved bus infrastructure is yet another example of how America is building again under President Trump… With these grants, thousands of new buses will hit the road and infrastructure will be upgraded – making public transit more efficient, affordable and safe for American families.”

enotrans.org, transportation.gov