Detroit gets $30 million grant to buy hybrid and hydrogen-fueled buses: 'You're gonna be able to breathe a little easier'

DETROIT (WWJ) — Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan says the city’s air will soon be “easier to breathe,” thanks to a nearly $31 million federal grant that will help replace old diesel buses.

Duggan and other city officials on Tuesday announced the Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) will replace 25 old diesel buses with “new clean energy models.” The city is receiving a $30.8 million USDOT Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Low or No Emissions grant from President Joe Biden’s administration through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

With an additional $5 million in match funding from the Michigan Department of Transportation, the total of the grant will be just under $36 million.

DDOT will purchase 21 new hybrid New Flyer buses (clean diesel/electric), along with the city’s first four zero-emissions hydrogen fuel-cell coaches and associated refueling infrastructure. The new buses will replace 2014 diesel fueled buses.

The new buses are expected to be brought into the fleet near the end of 2026.

Grant money will also go towards workforce development for operators and mechanics to be trained on the new equipment as well as the installation of charging & refueling infrastructure in anticipation of further investments into zero-emissions transportation.

“You’re gonna be able to breathe a little easier because we’ve got hybrid vehicles, the first hydrogen vehicles,” Duggan said at a press conference Tuesday, noting the city’s fleet of parking vehicles are already all electric and his administration is making a push towards solar energy.

“In everything we do, we are looking at how we can have an impact on climate change and Detroit’s resiliency, and we have a great partner in the Biden administration,” Duggan said.

DDOT currently has four zero-emission electric buses in service and four more on order, thanks to a $6.9 million FTA grant announced in 2022. That year, DDOT also replaced 28 older model diesel buses with new clean diesel models.

“The conversion to a cleaner bus fleet is one of the ways the City of Detroit is becoming a leader in environmental sustainability and climate action,” officials said in a press release.