CTS Receives Federal Grant to Purchase Two Electric Buses

August 17, 2022 - The Corvallis Transit System (CTS) received a $2.6 million grant to fund the purchase of two electric buses and the installation of a dedicated charging depot. The funds came from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that was signed into law by President Joe Biden earlier this year.

The City’s grant came through the Federal Transit Authority’s Low or No Emission Grant Program, which is intended to help local transit agencies buy or lease domestically produced vehicles and equipment. The City’s grant was one of six grants awarded in Oregon, and it was the only grant in the state that was specifically directed at a city government.

In Corvallis, the funds will help the City source two new electric no-emission buses to replace a pair of older diesel-fueled buses that had reached the end of their useful life. In addition, the funds will pay for the installation of a charging depot with two charging stations on the Public Works campus.

CTS operates 15 buses on 11 service routes throughout Corvallis. The bus fleet already includes two electric buses; this new grant will add two more electric vehicles and help advance the City’s long-term plan to convert its entire fleet to electric buses.

CTS is recognized throughout the country for its fareless transit model, which has been in service for more than a decade. By removing bus fares and the bulky collection infrastructure that is required to facilitate payments aboard buses, the City dramatically expanded usage of its public transportation system. Over the last decade, the system provided 9.4 million rides, totaling more than 30.7 million miles of travel around Corvallis.

Access to reliable, regular bus service is particularly important in Corvallis, which has a high population of university students without vehicles. Fareless service also aligns with the City’s long-term climate action goals of reducing congestion and greenhouse gas emissions from single occupancy vehicles. Over the last decade, bus trips saved a total of 17,326 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

Fareless service in Corvallis is funded by a transit operations fee, currently set at $3.44 per month for a typical single-family household. For more information on transit service in Corvallis, go to www.corvallisoregon.gov/cts.