Nearly 40% of the RYDE Racine’s Transit Fleet will be Zero-Emission
City of Racine – The City of Racine has been awarded $3,796,872 from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Low or No Emission Vehicle Program (“Low-No Program”) to buy 4 additional all-electric buses. This will bring the total of all-electric battery powered buses in RYDE Racine’s transit fleet to 13, resulting in nearly 40% of the systems fixed-route fleet being zero-emission. The City of Racine is one of only 150 awardees nationwide to receive funding from the program, and the only recipient in Wisconsin. This recently announced award will pay for the replacement of 4 2011 diesel buses which have driven more than 450,000 miles.
FTA’s Low or No Emission (Low-No) Grant Program makes funding available to help transit agencies purchase or lease U.S.-built low or no emission vehicles that use advanced technologies for transit operations. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides $5.5 billion over five years for the Low-No Program—more than 10 times greater than the previous five years of funding.
“Funded through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this announcement means more good jobs for people across the country, cleaner air in our communities, and more affordable and reliable options to help people get to where they need to go.” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, in an US DOT press release announcing the awards on Wednesday, August 16th.
“The City of Racine continues to lead the way in the transition to a cleaner and more efficient mass transit system.” said Mayor Cory Mason. “It is the role of local government to provide essential quality-of-life services to our residents while being innovative and good stewards of taxpayer dollars as well as the environment. I am proud to have partners in the federal government who recognize our commitment to reducing our carbon footprint and who are willing to invest resources into our City to help us achieve our shared climate goals.”
”RYDE Racine prioritizes quality service, greater savings, and improved sustainability. These zero-emission buses being added to the fleet build on the progress we have made to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality. Once all 13 zero-emission transit buses have replaced their diesel counterparts, The City of Racine will reduce its carbon footprint by approximately 922 tons annually, and that’s a pretty big deal,” said Transit & Mobility Director Trevor Jung.
In previous years, the City received $6,190,906.00 from the Volkswagen Transit Capital Assistance Grant Program and $3,183,723 from the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Transit Authority (FTA) Low or No Emission Vehicle Program (“Low-No Program”) for its current fleet of 9 EV buses, related charging infrastructure, and workforce development related to EV bus technology.
