Marin electric bus hub project gets $31.5M grant
The Biden administration has awarded Marin Transit a grant of $31.5 million to construct a hub for its growing fleet of electric buses.
The grant, the largest the agency has received, comes as Marin’s main local fixed-route bus operator and other transit agencies are working to replace their gas-powered fleets with all-electric or other no-emission replacements by the state’s 2040 target.
Nancy Whelan, the general manager of Marin Transit, said the new hub, which would be able to store, repair and recharge up to 40 electric buses, will be vital as the agency expands its electric fleet.
“We don’t own enough property to house or maintain our current fleet, so we rely on contractors using either their own space or leased spaces all across the county,” Whelan said. “All of our buses are stored and maintained at various locations across the county. It’s not very efficient to do that. We’re trying to find a more consolidated approach to park and now charge our buses.”
The grant was the largest the U.S. Department of Transportation provided to any transit agency in California as part of a competitive program funded by the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure and Jobs Act passed in 2021.
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Rep. Jared Huffman, a Democrat from San Rafael, said the award fulfills the promise that he and other members of Congress made after passing the Infrastructure and Jobs Act.
“Public transportation is a fundamental part of that equation, and these grants are going to help create a greener, more modern way to get people where they need to go,” Huffman wrote in a statement. “Another huge benefit of electrifying our region’s bus fleets is that every one of these clean electric busses is potentially a mobile generator to help communities respond to disasters and power outages.”
“Clean energy is the future, and by investing in these buses we can supercharge our transition while improving lives, creating jobs, and reducing planet-killing emissions,” Huffman said.
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By: Will Houston
Source: Marin Independent Journal
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