COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Central Ohio Transit Authority received a nearly $23 million grant on Wednesday to fund new buses aimed at eliminating emissions.
The $22.8 million grant comes from the Federal Transit Administration and will fund 10 brand new hydrogen fuel cell electric buses.
The hydrogen fuel cell bus allows the vehicle to produce its electricity, unlike a fully electric vehicle that gets its power from a lithium-ion battery.
Representatives with COTA say their goal is to have a 100% zero-emission bus fleet by 2035 and to achieve net-zero carbon neutrality by 2045.
Moving forward, COTA says the company will only be purchasing zero-emission vehicles.
"The buses that COTA is replacing have exceeded their useful life. They're old. These new electric and hydrogen buses will ensure more reliable rides and result in far fewer maintenance costs," said FTA Acting Administrator Veronica Vanterpool.
The grant will also help build a new refueling station at the McKinley Avenue facility.
This isn't the only effort taken by COTA to improve transportation in Columbus.
In May, the COTA Board of Trustees voted unanimously to approve language to place a levy on the ballot in November.
If passed, the levy would create dedicated funding for expanded modernized public transit, hundreds of miles of sidewalks, bikeways and pathways throughout COTA’s service area in more than 40 communities.
COTA says the levy would generate the public funding portion of the revenue to initiate the LinkUS Initiative. It’s described as a solution to address growth, affordability, sustainability and opportunity in central Ohio.