The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Laketran gets funds for electric bus
Funds for electric bus part of surface transportation law enacted in 2015
DOT monies will help transit agency deploy expanded fleet of alternative-powered vehicles.
Laketran’s mission of deploying an expanded fleet of alternative-powered vehicles continues to move toward fruition.
The Department of Transportation recently awarded the transit agency $1.9 million to purchase a zero-emission electric transit bus and three charging stations.
According to Laketran, the addition of the charging stations will allow any of their fixed routes buses to run on zero-emission technology.
In 2019, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, wrote to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao in support of Laketran’s investment in electric buses, and helped secure the funds for the grant program as part of the multi-year surface transportation law, the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, enacted in 2015.
“Laketran is a leader in adopting new technology that reduces emissions and lowers the cost of providing transit service,” Brown stated in a news release. “This additional investment will help (Laketran) improve service for their riders and help Ohio continue its leadership in developing and deploying the next generation of zeroemission buses.”
The funds are part of the Federal Transit Administration’s Low or No Emission Program. Brown — who serves as the ranking member of the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, which oversees Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration — was also the lead Senate democratic negotiator on the public transportation title of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act.
That law doubled federal investment in the Low or No Emission Program, which distributed nearly $130 million to zero-emission projects this year, the release stated.
In August 2018, the Department of Transportation announced a $2.29 million award to assist Laketran with the purchase of two low-emission electric buses and two charging stations that will service Lake County residents.
Last November, the Department of Transportation awarded $4,300,000 to Laketran to purchase battery electric buses and equipment, and to reconstruct one of its Park-and-Ride facilities.
Laketran officials noted these investments will help the agency to become one of the first transit systems in Ohio to have all of its fixed-route local bus service run with zero-emission technology.
“I’d like to the thank Senator Brown for his ongoing encouragement for federal investment in zero-emission transit projects and the FTA for their continued investment in alternative fueled vehicles through their Low-No program,” said Laketran Board President Brian Falkowski. “This grant will allow us to increase our zero-emission fleet size to 10 buses and have the ability to electrify any route within our
“Laketran is a leader in adopting new technology that reduces emissions and lowers the cost of providing transit service.” — Sen. Sherrod Brown
fixed-routes system.
“Laketran is committed to operating the lowest-polluting and most energy-efficient transit vehicles, and with this award, the majority of our transit buses will be powered by electricity instead of diesel or gasoline by 2021.”