Hawaii will receive more than $55 million from the federal government to fund new electric public buses across the state.
The new funding, which comes from the United States Department of Transportation, via the recent infrastructure law, will provide Hawaii residents and visitors with more travel options while cutting air pollution, according to congressional officials.
The Hawaii Department of Transportation will receive more than $35 million in funding on behalf of Hawaii, Kauai, and Maui counties to improve bus stops and facilities and buy a mix of zero-emission buses, battery electric buses, and fuel cell electric buses. The new vehicles will also replace diesel buses and retrofitted hydrogen fuel cell cutaways that have exceeded their useful life.
“This new federal funding will make it easier for people to get to where they need to go while making our roads cleaner and quieter,” said Senator Schatz, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation and Housing. “Improving our public transit system with electric buses means that we can provide affordable transportation while reducing our carbon footprint.”
The Honolulu Department of Transportation Services will also receive $20 million to buy battery electric buses.
“I’m very excited and grateful for this grant,” said Honolulu Department of Transportation Services Director Roger Morton, in a statement. “With these funds, the City will be expanding it’s ever-growing all electric TheBus fleet, to bring a cleaner, quieter, and safer ride to residents and visitors of Honolulu”.
The City has a total of 17 electric buses that are currently serving different routes across the island, according to officials and each EV bus costs roughly $1.1 million. The City is planning to use these grants, additional federal and local funds to purchase and add 36 to 38 more EV buses to the fleet in 2024.
“This new federal funding will make it easier for people to get to where they need to go while making our roads cleaner and quieter,” Schatz said in a statement. “Improving our public transit system with electric buses means that we can provide affordable transportation while reducing our carbon footprint.”
