US President Joe Biden's Federal Transit Administration announces $1.7 billion in grants for electric bus fleets and infrastructure

This is the press release from the Department of Transportation's Federal Transit Administration, so you'll have to forgive the self-congratulatory tone of the piece.

The $1.7b package, which provides grant funding to 130 state and local transportation authorities in 46 states, is the second step in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that Washington is taking to electrify bus fleets across the country (totaling $3.3b). The administration supposedly plans to provide an additional $5b in funding in the next three years, though we don't yet know how it'll be allocated.

See the full list of projects funded here.

Examples of projects selected to receive FY 2023 funding include:

• The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) will receive $104 million to convert its Lorton, VA, bus garage to a fully electric facility, buy approximately 100 battery-electric buses, and develop a workforce training program for drivers, mechanics, and first responders to ensure safe and efficient operations of the fleet. This project will support WMATA's plans to accelerate its transition to a 100-percent zero-emission bus fleet and create good paying construction jobs, which will be supported through a project labor agreement and registered apprenticeships.
• King County Metro Transit in Seattle, Washington will receive $33.5 million to buy approximately 30 battery-electric buses and charging equipment and train workers to maintain the electric fleet. The project will convert 27 bus routes that serve low-income areas and expand Metro’s apprenticeship program, including promoting transit careers for residents in underserved communities.
• The Ohio Department of Transportation will receive $29.3 million to help 10 transit agencies serving both rural and urban communities buy dozens of low- or no-emission buses that will replace older vehicles. The agencies will expand their fleets to support essential services, train workers in good-quality careers, and begin the decarbonization transition for several of Ohio’s major transit systems. The new battery electric, CNG, and propane powered buses supported by this grant will provide better reliability, improve air quality, and lower maintenance costs across the state.
• Iowa City, Iowa will receive nearly $23.3 million to buy four electric buses to replace older diesel vehicles that have exceeded their useful life and to replace its operations and maintenance facility, originally constructed in the 1980s. The project will improve transit system conditions, create more reliable and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
• The Seneca Nation of Indians in Western New York will receive nearly $6 million to replace an outdated maintenance facility with a new building that will serve as an operations hub for the Seneca Nation Department of Transportation, including the Seneca Transit System (STS). The building, which will allow STS to store and maintain transit buses, will serve as the jumping-off point for services in five New York counties.

I have no clue how Washington state is spending $104 million on 100 new electric buses and Iowa City can only manage... four buses with $23.3 million, but I'm not going to complain. More electrification is a good thing for the environment and any investment in public transit is much appreciated.

The highest grants awarded to any particular municipality appear to have gone to:

• [DC] Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) ($104m)
• [TX] Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) ($103m)
• [PA] Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) ($80m)
• [LA] New Orleans Regional Transit Authority ($71m)
• [NJ] New Jersey Transit Corporation ($47m)
• [TX] Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) ($40m)
• [MD] University of Maryland, College Park ($40m)
• [MT] Missoula Urban Transportation District ($39m)
• [OH] METRO Regional Transit Authority ($38m)
• [WI] City of Madison ($37m)
• [WA] King County Metro Transit ($34m)
• [CA] Marin County Transit District ($32m)
• [NC] City of Charlotte - Charlotte Area Transit System ($31m)
• [CA] San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency ($30m)
• ...the list continues

But there were quite a lot of smaller grants given to smaller municipalities. Read more.