Stabenow, Peters Announce More Than $55 Million in Federal Funding to Modernize Transit Bus Fleets in Detroit, and Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti Areas

U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters announced a more than $55 million investment from the U.S. Department of Transportation that will help the Detroit Department of Transportation and the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority (AAATA) purchase cleaner, modern transit buses and remove aging diesel models from their fleets. Funding for the projects comes from the Federal Transit Administration’s Low and No Emission grant program, which was established through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law the senators helped enact. Peters also supported both organizations’ applications for this federal funding.

“Public transit is critical to get people to and from the doctor, grocery stores, and work,” said Senator Stabenow. “This funding from our Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will ensure more families and workers in Southeast Michigan have reliable transportation, while improving air quality and combatting the climate crisis.”

“Michiganders will have access to safer and cleaner busses in their communities thanks to this critical federal investment,” said Senator Peters. “I was proud to support efforts of both the Detroit Department of Transportation and the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority to secure this funding, which represents a critical investment in regional transit and will take aging buses off our roads and replace them with modern, low emission alternatives.”

“Today, 117 communities, including Detroit and Ann Arbor, are receiving the good news that their transit buses are being modernized and their commutes improved through President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “The Biden-Harris Administration is helping agencies across 47 states replace old buses running on dirty, expensive fuels by delivering modern and zero-emission buses, manufactured by American workers, that will connect more people to where they need to go.”

Below are descriptions of each project:

• Fueling the Future: Transforming Detroit Public Transit with Zero-Emission Buses – The Detroit Department of Transportation will receive $30,794,240 to replace older buses with new hybrid electric buses and hydrogen fuel cell electric buses. The funding also supports a hydrogen fueling station and a worker training program on zero-emission technologies, resulting in better jobs, cleaner air and more reliable bus service.
• TheRide HForward: Reducing Emissions in Greater Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti through the Deployment of Hydrogen and Hybrid Buses at AAATA – The AAATA will receive $25,000,000 to buy new hydrogen fuel cell and low-emission diesel-electric hybrid buses to replace older diesel buses and a mobile hydrogen station. This project will improve operations, reduce energy consumption, and enable AAATA to move toward a zero-emission fleet.

The Low or No Emission grant program provides funding to state and local governmental authorities to acquire zero-emission and low-emission transit buses, as well as the construction of lease of required facilities to support new and modern buses. More information about the program can be found here.

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