CBJ awarded $5 million to purchase electric buses

The City and Borough of Juneau will receive $5 million in federal grant funding to purchase new electric buses and associated charging infrastructure for Capital Transit. Through previous grant awards, CBJ’s first electric bus is scheduled to arrive in October. After that, seven more aging diesel buses are due to be replaced in 2022.

The $5 million is from the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration (FTA) through the Low- or No-Emission (Low-No) Grant Program, which provides funding for state and local governmental authorities to purchase or lease zero-emission and low-emission transit buses. CBJ is one of 41 projects in 40 states sharing $130 million in federal Low-No grant funding. CBJ has received other Low-No grant funding in 2017, 2018, and 2019.

Juneau’s first electric bus, which will be from Proterra, will go into use as soon as it arrives. Capital Transit currently uses three electric cars as support vehicles, purchased through grant funding from the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities.

For more information, contact Capital Transit Superintendent Ed Foster at 789-6901 or [email protected].