LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A $10.5 million federal grant will allow CityBus to continue its investment in hydrogen fuel cell buses alongside the implementation of necessary infrastructure upgrades.
The grant awarded by the Federal Transit Administration’s “Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities” and “Low- and No-Emission Vehicle” programs is part of about $1.5 billion in funding to support and improve public transportation in 47 states, according to a news release. Over the past three years, the FTA has spent nearly $5 billion to replace and modernize transit buses on America’s roads.
“We are thrilled to receive this additional grant award from the Federal Transit Administration,” Bryan D. Smith, CEO of CityBus, said in the release. “This grant will further our longstanding commitment to provide environmentally friendly transit services to the Greater Lafayette community.”
The $10.5 million grant comes after a June 2023 award by the FTA to CityBus for $7.6 million under the previous series of Low- and No-Emission Grant funding announcements.
“By embracing hydrogen technology, we continue our tradition of making a positive impact on our community’s air quality and reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” Smith said.
The grants from the FTA will continue the funding toward state-of-the-art hydrogen fuel buses, the release said. A portion of the funding will allow for the development of necessary infrastructure to support the new buses, such as hydrogen refueling stations and maintenance facility modifications, as well as workforce training programs for CityBus employees.
CityBus said in the release it anticipates the first round of hydrogen fuel cell buses will be in service by the spring of 2025.
Bryan Walck, manager of customer experience for CityBus, said the new buses arriving in 2025 were bought through the 2023 grant and that these types of vehicles aren’t typically available for immediate purchases.
“These take a little while to get to us,” he said. “They don’t exactly have these sitting on the shelf.”
In addition to the new buses, CityBus will also prepare for the hydrogen fuel cell buses at its administrative facility on Canal Road, Walck said, where the municipal corporation currently has diesel and compressed natural gas filling stations for its current buses. With the arrival of its newer buses, Walck explained only one hydrogen fueling station will be needed at this time.
“Just one station fuels multiple buses,” Walck said. “With electric battery buses, you typically need multiple filling stations, but hydrogen doesn’t work that way. We may in the future expand on our hydrogen fueling stations as we continue to add those buses.”
Jillian Ellison is a reporter for the Journal and Courier. She can be reached via email at jellison@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @ellison_writes.