Sen. Angus King (I) and Rep. Chellie Pingree (D) announced this past Friday that Downeast Transportation Inc. (DTI) has received more than $23 million in federal funding to acquire twenty-three electric buses, as well as charging infrastructure, for Hancock County’s public transit system.
This grant will be used to replace twenty-one propane-fueled buses that are currently in use with electric alternatives, as well as to purchase two additional electric buses that will expand the fleet.
DTI is responsible for providing public transportation in Hancock County, operating a year-round commuter bus service between Bar Harbor, Bangor, Brewer, Franklin, Milbridge and Ellsworth.
In addition to this, they run the seasonal Island Explorer shuttle service for Acadia National Park, Mount Desert Island, and the Schoodic Peninsula.
This funding came in the form of a Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant distributed through the Department of Transportation (DOT).
“Public transit is an essential service for Maine communities — helping folks commute to work affordably, connecting families, and supporting visitors coming to experience ‘The Way Life Should Be,’” Sen. King and Rep. Pingree wrote in a press release.
“The electrification of the Downeast Transit Inc. bus fleet will help ensure Maine people and visitors alike can continue to rely on this critical bus service across Hancock County, and in Acadia National Park, as well as help to further Maine’s climate goals,” they said. “Made possible through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we are proud to support this important and environmentally friendly project.”
Click Here to Read the Full Press Release
The $23 million in funding awarded to Maine this past week came as part of a $1.8 billion disbursement covering 148 projects nationwide. This latest drop of funding brought the total amount distributed through the RAISE program to $7.2 billion.
The RAISE program was borne out of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and was designed to “invest in critical freight and passenger transportation infrastructure projects that would otherwise not receive the funding.”
Among the many other projects to be awarded funding this past week were the restoration of 45 miles of Alaskan highway damaged by permafrost and the improvement of safety and accessibility at 33 North Carolina intersections.
Click Here for More Information on the RAISE Program
Earlier this year, King, Pingree, and Rep. Jared Golden (D) touted a $1 million federal grant for the installation of electric vehicle (EV) chargers and rooftop solar panels at Acadia’s new maintenance complex, which will serve as the national park’s transportation hub.
In 2023, King and Sen. Susan Collins (R) secured nearly $33 million in federal funding for the new complex’s construction, but this grant did not include “the capital improvements needed to move towards a net-zero emissions building or park,” according to a January press release.
The additional $1 million was awarded to help fund the installation of solar panels at the complex, as well as twelve new EV charging stations.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="29128 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=29128">13 Comments
What a waste of money, I hope there has follow up.on the “success’ of these busses.
Waste more money we don’t have on technology that doesn’t work.
Where will the electricity come from ?
Paco
“Where will the electricity come from ?”
Windmills man windmills, and maybe a solar farm of two. ha, ha, ha.
More tax $$$$ down that yellow hole in the snow!
YEAH!
Everyone who rides a bus now has the day off when the temp is below 15*
YEA! Even slower, less reliable busses for awayers clogging up MDI!
It is election time get all now as we will have to pay big time to get rid of the batteries. Call me in Jan. when you can not get started.
The Demo are just pissing away our tax dollars and the will not be here after Nov.
Keep an eye out for stories about busses that are out of service this winter.
This is a laughable example of the blind leading the inept – electric school busses that will die on the road in winter with kids onboard. The corruption in the leadership in Maine is so blatant and the people just keep re-electing this corruption that wastes tax dollars on this folly.
Warning to Downeast Transportation. You go WOKE you’ll go Broke.
Except for the money being pissed away here, it will be fun to watch this experiment fail.
Wait till one of em catches fire…. it’ll burn FOR HOURS IF NOT DAYS. and it only took 1000 gallons of diesel fuel , and a ton of coal to make the batteries with minerals stripmined from the earth using heavy equipment, and child slave labor to build em ,in China! Ohhhhh were saving the world!! 🤣🤣🤣👎👎🙈🙉🙊