The University of Alabama will use its $8 million in federal transit funds to transition part of its Crimson Ride transit system buses to electric buses.
The project will cost $10 million, and $2 million in matching funds will be provided by the university. The project will involve the installation of charging infrastructure for eight new buses and working with the Shelton State Community College to train workers to service these new buses.
“Modifying the current fleet will allow the Crimson Ride Transit to meet the campus population growth while moving resources where they can be best utilized,” said UA President Stuart Bell. “The transfer to electric buses will reduce emissions and have an immediate impact on our area.”
The project will contribute to the Alabama Mobility and Power Center’s mission to become a premier research and development hub for modern mobility and power technologies, charging infrastructure development and power delivery management to support EV deployment.
The buses, the infrastructure and the building of the required skilled workforce will be phased in over the next few years.
The grant awarded to the University of Alabama is part of the United States Department of Transit Administration’s $1.66 billion initiative to invest in 150 bus fleets and facilities in the country.
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The initiative at the University of Alabama also includes a research component. Traffic and engineering researchers affiliated to the Alabama Transportation Institute and the Center for Advanced Vehicle Technologies will install sensors to study the functioning of electric vehicle technology and facilitate optimization of the transit setting.
“This award has tremendous potential to transform our transit system in the direction of renewable energy,” said Dr. Allen Parrish, executive director of ATI. “Electric mobility is a core focus area of ATI and we look forward to collaborating with UA Transportation Services on this exciting project.”
The grant was awarded under FTA’s Buses and Bus Facilities and Low- and No-Emission Vehicle program, which provides funding to transit agencies to purchase or lease U.S.-built low- or no-emission vehicles and related equipment and facilities.
“If society wants to reach zero emissions, we need to move to an electrical vehicle ecosystem while at the same time moving to renewable energy,” said Dr. Bharat Balasubramanian, professor in the UA College of Engineering, executive director of the Center for Advanced Vehicle Technologies and chief mobility research and development officer for the Alabama Transportation Institute. “This initiative not only plays a role in helping reduce emissions, but the research and workforce development components, in partnership with industry, strengthen UA and the Tuscaloosa area in becoming a hub for electric vehicles while ensuring the state’s profile for innovation in electric vehicles is strong.”
