St. Pete awarded almost $28 million towards new electric and hybrid buses

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St. Petersburg’s buses are about to go electric, and the city received almost 28 million dollars in federal funds to make it happen.

It was a competitive grant process, but St. Pete came out on top.

US Department of Transportation Deputy Secretary Polly Trottenberg announced the award of a nearly 28 million dollar grant to purchase 12 electric buses and four hybrid buses.

The funds will also go towards chargers, equipment, and workforce training to maintain the buses.

“The new buses will be cleaner, they will be quieter, and hopefully have longer running times and be safer as well.”

The funding is from a pool of over 1 billion dollars supporting public transportation projects nationwide.

It’s part of President Biden’s goal of zero emissions by 2050.

Trottenberg says her office received over 9 billion dollars in requests from cities across the country.

But says St. Pete’s application was one of the best.

“You know, it’s a growing area, and I think you all are really leaning into that next generation of transit investments, and we’re really excited to partner with you all and support you.”

St. Petersburg last received a federal grant for electric buses in 2022.