Honolulu receives $20M for electric bus fleet

The Federal Transit Administration has awarded the city Department of Transportation Services $20 million to purchase seven all-electric buses and expand charging station capacities at the city’s Pearl City bus depot.

Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi made the announcement Tuesday in his office, joined by DTS Director Roger Morton and Ray Tellis, FTA regional administrator for Hawaii.

Blangiardi spoke to the importance of the city’s collaboration with federal partners in leveraging federal dollars for Honolulu’s transit system, as the money comes from the federal “Low-No” — low- and no-emission — grant program, which aims to electrify public transit fleets across the country.

“The responsibility that we have … is really modernizing our city, making it a great place to live and providing services and opportunities for people,” Blangiardi said.

The new buses will add to the city’s current fleet of 17 all-electric buses and a “significant number” of hybrid buses, Morton said. The money also will pay for the construction of 18 new charging stations at TheBus’ Pearl City facility. Morton said the city is about a year and a half away from breaking ground on the project.

With new infrastructure and an incoming fleet of electric vehicles, Morton said DTS also is committed to developing a training program for a skilled workforce of technicians knowledgeable in electric vehicles.

Tellis said, “It’s going to bring you a workforce of the future with high-tech workers maintaining a fleet that is also high-tech and, most importantly, green.”

Morton said the ultimate goal is to achieve electrification of all public transportation on Oahu. According to Tellis, Hawaii’s commitment to doing so contributes to the nation’s long-term goal of achieving a zero-emission bus fleet by 2040.

“That is where the ambitious aspect of this goal comes into play, because it’s not an easy challenge, but it’s something that we’re gearing up to do,” he said.

It’s also a costly challenge. A single diesel bus costs about $895,000 compared with $1.2 million for an electric bus, according to Morton.

“It’s a little more expensive,” he said, “but the experience we’ve had so far is that those buses excel in energy conservation, and even in Hawaii we’ve been able to operate those buses at less costs per mile for fuel. And so far, so good that the maintenance of the vehicles has exceeded our expectations.”

Electric buses can operate for up to 220 miles per day, which, according to Morton, is about 40 to 50 miles more than the current diesel buses.

The electrification of all city vehicles will occur over a 15-year period at an estimated cost of $1 billion. Morton said the city is “really fortunate” to have federal partners who will cover 85% of bus purchases and 90% of infrastructure costs.

“This means we can do a lot quicker what we would not be able to do without the support of the (FTA),” he said.

The city plans to gradually replace Honolulu’s approximately 500 vehicles with electric ones as “they reach the end of their useful life.”

Ahead of the Skyline rail system’s opening Friday, Blangiardi said Tuesday’s announcement was another milestone for the city’s transit system.