HIRTA to Receive Five Electric Paratransit Buses Through a FTA Program Awarded to the Iowa DOT

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HIRTA to Receive Five Electric Paratransit Buses Through a FTA Program Awarded to the Iowa DOT

The Federal Transit Administration recently announced a $2.8 million grant for the purchase of low- and no-emission transit buses and related infrastructure in Iowa. With the grant, the Iowa Department of Transportation will be purchasing nine battery-electric paratransit buses and the charging infrastructure needed to support them. The buses will be operated across three multi-county transit agencies in the state. The Iowa DOT is partnering with non-profit CALSTART as well as Alliant Energy on this project.

Heart of Iowa Regional Transit Agency (HIRTA) is one of the multi-county transit agencies under this grant and we will be receiving five electric paratransit buses and charging stations.

“These buses will be the first of their kind deployed in rural Iowa. While there have been some battery-electric buses used in our larger cities, these buses will be put into service to serve the more rural parts of our state,” said Brent Paulsen, transit programs administrator in the Iowa DOT’s Modal Transportation Bureau.

HIRTA’s Executive Director, Julia Castillo said “It is important for us to make smart investments that bring efficient clean energy modes of transportation to the rural communities we serve. We still have a lot to learn, and we anticipate it will be 16-18 months before we see the first electric bus put into operation. However, we are excited and look forward to being one of the first rural transit agencies in Iowa to operate electric buses.”

HIRTA leadership has been talking about diversifying our fleet and reducing our carbon footprint for awhile and

we see this as a first and important step toward that goal.

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