UTA gets $18 million to replace diesel buses with electric fleet

The Utah Transit Authority building in Salt Lake City is pictured on Thursday, April 18, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)

The Federal Transit Administration has awarded more than $18 million to the Utah Transit Authority to replace old diesel-powered buses with a new electric fleet, part of a grant awards program for low- and no-emission buses and facilities.

The money could fund about 15 battery-electric buses , set to be housed at the authority’s Meadowbrook facility in South Salt Lake.

“This project will reduce harmful emissions, while serving disadvantaged communities within Salt Lake County,” an announcement from the Federal Transit Administration reads.

The new vehicles would add to a fleet of 34 electric buses that UTA already operates , and four more the authority is expecting next year, said Hal Johnson, director of innovative mobility solutions at UTA.

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The buses may be ready by 2027, Johnson estimated, and are expected to serve cities in western Salt Lake County, such as West Valley City and Taylorsville.

UTA has a goal to expand that number to 200 electric buses by 2034 — roughly 40% of its total bus fleet, along with other diesel-powered or compressed natural gas buses.

“Right now is one of the example days. We’ve got poor air quality and so if you look at where the emissions come from, 50% of those emissions are from mobile sources, so people driving cars and trucks around, as well as buses and heavy duty (vehicles),” Johnson said on Tuesday. “Electrifying helps take emissions out of our airshed.”

The buses are also more energy efficient, Johnson added, and the electricity that powers them could come from a variety of sources, including renewable energy and coal. The switch for UTA’s buses is also a part of a larger state transportation strategy established by SB125 , which designated a Utah State University research center and a committee to make an electric transportation transition plan.

“We’ve been working with UDOT as well as Utah State and other partners on looking at how to (electrify) our transportation system in the most effective ways,” Johnson said.

UTA has an agreement with Rocky Mountain Power, which works as the primary energy supplier for the operation. Buses either charge overnight at garages, or through overhead chargers.

The grants were part of $1.5 billion aimed to fund 117 public transportation projects in 47 states. Most of them are meant to modernize transit buses and facilities across the country. Other projects include charging facilities, hydrogen fuel cell buses or vehicles powered by compressed natural gas.

Investing in low- and no-emission transit buses represents a substantial portion of the Biden administration’s transportation emissions reductions strategy, said Ali Zaidi, assistant to the president and national climate adviser, in a statement .

“This innovative and common-sense approach is already bolstering American manufacturing and creating good-paying union jobs – and it will safeguard the planet for future generations,” Zaidi said. “By modernizing transit with improved clean energy technologies, we will also boost the longevity of our mass transportation system, reduce traffic congestion, and clean up the air we breathe in the neighborhoods and communities that line our roads and highways.”

High Valley Transit District, which serves the state’s Wasatch Back, including Park City and Midway, got more than $16.2 million “to replace and expand its aging diesel fleet with new battery electric buses to meet growing ridership demand,” according to the administration. The funding would pay for approximately 10 buses .

“The project will enable HVTD to reduce emissions, maintenance costs and service disruptions,” reads the announc ement.

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