The City of Racine was notified Thursday by the Wisconsin Department of Administration that the City will be awarded $6,190,906 for at least six new electric buses. The cost of the buses will be covered through the Volkswagen Transit Capital Assistance Grant Program.
“This is exciting news for several reasons,” said Mayor Cory Mason. “It’s good for the City budget, allowing us to have a dedicated funding source to replace some of our aging buses. This also helps us keep our commitment to reducing the City’s carbon footprint, and it allows us to be innovative as a SmartCity.”
Funding became available from the state because Volkswagen, admitted to violating the Federal Clean Air Act in lawsuit brought against the company. It had been discovered that emission for some of the company’s vehicles were intentionally misreported.
Volkswagen was ordered to pay a settlement of $2.9 billion to states. Wisconsin received $67.1 million of that settlement and made $32 million of that available via grants to municipalities to replace aging buses.
In September, the City applied for the grant with a request for new electric buses, which also included the costs of infrastructure upgrades and charging stations.
Ten cities have been granted funds under the settlement to buy the electric buses. The six buses to be purchased by Racine ranked behind Madison (10), Milwaukee County (11), and Appleton (15).
More information can be found at the Wisconsin Department of Administration website.