The University of Georgia has been awarded $7.46 million under the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Program to purchase an additional 13 electric buses.
The funding, along with UGA’s 30% matching share, will allow the university to increase its fleet to 33 electric buses.
Twenty electric buses were purchased in April 2019 through a grant from the Georgia State Road and Tollway Authority and are currently in production at the Proterra Inc. plant in Greenville, South Carolina.
These buses will begin arriving on campus later this month and should go into service this academic year. The additions will give UGA one of the largest electric bus fleets of any university in North America.
The electric buses are expected to significantly lower life-cycle costs for the university, since the useful life of electric buses far exceeds the 12-year standard for diesel buses.
According to UGA, fuel costs will decrease by approximately 90%, and with no internal combustion engine or transmission, maintenance costs will be drastically reduced as well.
The additional buses are anticipated to be purchased within the next year.