The City of Davenport announced it will add four electric buses to its CitiBus fleet beginning in early 2024 thanks to an award of more than $4.8 million in Federal Transit Administration Bus and Low- and No-Emission Grant funds.
The federal funds, announced Tuesday, Aug. 16, will provide Davenport CitiBus with the resources necessary to bring the city up to speed with technology while providing reliable, affordable services to transit passengers.
The long-anticipated, zero-emission addition will phase out the city’s 20-year-old higher emission and costly diesel buses. Transitioning to zero-emission buses is a significant step for the City of Davenport’s efforts to improve air quality and reduce operational costs of public transportation.
A typical diesel bus produces nearly 230,000 pounds of greenhouse gas per year. Once the electric buses are placed in operation, the city will keep 920,000 pounds of greenhouse gasses from being released into the atmosphere each year.
The grant follows a successful campaign that raised $185,000 in additional funding from local stakeholders including MidAmerican Energy, $160,000, and the Regional Development Authority, $25,000. The city estimates its cost-share for the new buses is $675,000.
Marla Miller, Davenport’s transit operations manager, said: “The commitment of funding came on the heels of an electric bus tour hosted by Davenport in February 2022 where feedback was nothing but positive – quieter, smoother ride; new and bright; feels amazing compared to the current fleet. We can’t wait for them to arrive.”
Miller added that “this is a win-win for the city, our passengers, community, and environment. Adding new buses to the fleet is huge, not to mention lowering the volume of energy (and costs) consumed while providing a valuable service to the community. Millions of Americans rely on American-made transit buses to get where they need to go every day. Public transportation helps the public travel to work, school, and everywhere in between. Staff consistently seeks funding opportunities to provide dependable public transportation to all.”
