Brown Announces Nearly $27 Million In Infrastructure Bill Investment for Zero-Emission Electric Bus Fleet in Central Ohio

WASHINGTON, D.C. – August 10, 2022 – Today, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has awarded a $26,714,004 grant to the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) to replace diesel buses with zero-emission battery electric buses and invest in charging infrastructure. Funding for this investment was made possible through the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which Brown helped to write and pass.

“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is already getting resources to Ohio communities to improve transportation,” said Brown. “We worked to ensure the infrastructure bill will allow Ohio communities to upgrade their buses, and this investment will improve service for riders while reducing pollution. I’m working to make sure Ohio gets its fair share – or more – of infrastructure investment, and this is the first step in that effort.”   

“This investment will allow COTA to replace 28 diesel transit vehicles with battery-electric transit vehicles, supporting our efforts to have a fully no/low emission fleet by 2025 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2045,” said Joanna M. Pinkerton, President/CEO of COTA. “These electric vehicles will operate across Central Ohio, ensuring we do our part to provide the public health benefits of clean-fuel transportation. We appreciate the work done by our Congressional delegation, including Senator Brown, in supporting COTA in our role to help our community pivot towards a safer, sustainable future.”

COTA will benefit from a number of funding programs in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Ohio is expected to receive $1.347 billion in public transit formula funding over the next five years, with $149 million of that anticipated to go to the Columbus area.

Last month, Brown joined Federal Transit Administrator, Nuria Fernandez, and local transit leaders to discuss how the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) plans to use the record federal investment from the bipartisan infrastructure law to build innovative bus lines, reduce travel times and create jobs.

Brown – who serves as the chairman of the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, which oversees DOT’s Federal Transit Administration – has championed federal investment to support Ohio’s local transit authorities.