July 10, 2023. The Stark Area Regional Transit Authority (SARTA) plans to spend $4.41 million from a federal grant on two electric buses, two chargers and eight paratransit vehicles that will run on compressed natural gas (CNG).
The two electric buses, which would be the first in SARTA’s fleet, would transport veterans to appointments at Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, said SARTA’s CEO Kirt Conrad.
SARTA’s $4.41 million comes from the $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill that Congress passed in November 2021. The legislation increased infrastructure spending by about $550 million on top of what Congress was planning to spend on infrastructure.
SARTA has several no-emission hydrogen fuel-cell 40-foot-long fixed-route buses. But no one yet makes hydrogen fuel-cell coach buses, said Conrad, so SARTA opted to go with two electric buses that will each cost about $1.1 million and seat 52. The manufacturer would be MCI or Motor Coach Industries, based in Des Plaines, Illinois.
Conrad said SARTA bought five fuel-cell paratransit vehicles for $450,000 each in 2021. But they’ve developed problems. Some of the fuel cells have had difficulty working. The batteries at times have not held a charge. He said because SARTA has backup vehicles, the problems have not affected riders getting to their destinations.
Until the manufacturer resolves the issues, Conrad said, SARTA decided to get eight low-emission CNG paratransit vehicles instead to replace old diesel vehicles being phased out of its fleet of 60. The new natural gas paratransit vehicle will each cost about $170,000 and would be delivered in about a year. Tesco Bus in Oregon, Ohio, make the paratransit vehicles.