The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) Division of Air Quality (DAQ) today announced funding awards to replace 61 transit buses with cleaner low-emission vehicles, including 25 electric buses. DAQ combined the $13.5 million from the N.C. Volkswagen Settlement with $6.3 in additional transportation funds to maximize the air quality impacts of the transit bus replacements.
These 61 new, clean buses will together reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) by more than 35.5 tons over their lifetimes. A majority of the available funding will go toward 25 all-electric buses and associated charging infrastructure, which will provide a 100% reduction in vehicle emissions for these projects.
The Transit and Shuttle Bus Program involved a competitive application process where projects were scored by a selection committee of DAQ staff. In total, DAQ received 13 applications requesting more than $35.5 million in funding for this program. The selection committee fully or partially funded at least one requested bus from each applicant.
The N.C. Department of Public Safety will receive funding for 32 new prison transport buses. Other recipients include the N.C. Zoo; the cities of Raleigh, Durham, Charlotte, Greensboro and Chapel Hill; and universities and transit authorities across the state. The full list of awarded projects is on DEQ’s website.
Of the funded buses, 23 are projects in one of the 37 Historically Under-Resourced Counties that DAQ targeted for additional outreach and support during the application process. The goal of this program is to help equitably distribute the available Volkswagen Settlement funding across the state.
DAQ used $6.3 million from the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Congestion Mitigation & Air Quality (CMAQ) program to supplement the Volkswagen Settlement grants, helping the Division fund as many electric buses as possible. Of the 25 electric buses selected for funding, 19 were fully or partially funded by CMAQ.
Phase 2 of the N.C. Volkswagen Settlement covers the remaining $68 million of the state’s share of a national settlement with the automaker. The state is awarding the funds through grants and rebates to support the replacement of old diesel vehicles with clean alternatives and the purchase of electric vehicle charging infrastructure across the state.
Applications for Level 2 charging infrastructure rebates are still being accepted. To date, DAQ has awarded nearly half of the $1.1 million set aside for first-come, first-served rebates to install publicly accessible Level 2 chargers, with the most recent rebates announced July 11.