U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, and Congressmen Steny Hoyer, Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes, Anthony Brown, Jamie Raskin and David Trone (all D-Md.), have announced $41,765,975 in federal funds to improve and rehabilitate bus systems in Maryland to support the adoption of fuel-efficient technologies, such as low- and zero-emission vehicles.

These awards are administered through the Department of Transportation’s Buses and Facilities Program and the Low- or No-Emissions Program. This funding comes from the $1.47 billion made available to these programs through the fiscal year 2022 funding law, which the lawmakers worked to pass earlier this year, and is authorized by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Prior to receiving this funding, the Delegation wrote to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Buttigieg and Federal Transit Administrator Fernandez in support of these Maryland applications.

The grant awardees include:

● $25,000,000 to Prince George’s County Government to buy approximately 20 zero-emission, battery electric buses and upgrade the electrical system at their transit depot, add additional electric chargers at multiple transit hubs and install a microgrid, helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 1,227 metric tons per year.

● $14,875,975 to Montgomery County Department of Transportation to buy 13 zero-emission buses powered by hydrogen fuel cell technology. MCDOT, which operates close to 400 buses in Maryland’s most populous county, has committed to transition to a zero-emission fleet by 2035.

● $1,890,000 to Maryland Transit Administration, Anne Arundel County to purchase Anne Arundel County approximately four diesel-electric hybrid buses as part of their five-year plan to transition to a zero-emission fleet.

Funding is provided through formula allocations and competitive grants. The goal of the Low- and No-Emission Vehicle Program is to assist transit agencies in their shift to cleaner technologies, supporting the administration’s goal of reducing emissions by 50 percent by the end of the decade.