By: Diane Benjamin
Are the electric buses alive now? Are these 12 buses really running? This page lists the bus fleet: https://connect-transit.com/about/our-fleet
6 hybrid.
32 other buses are listed as diesel.
This was mentioned at the March 2026 Connect Transit meeting:
The Gillig buses that Connect Transit already has are diesel. The documentation for this purchase does not specify diesel, but I’m 100% sure ‘heavy-duty’ means diesel in this context. Living in a state that aims to be fossil-fuel-free by 2040 apparently means hiding the fact that you’re buying diesel buses—because those actually work reliably. It will be interesting to see which buses disappear from the fleet list once these new ones are delivered.
February 2025 meeting – PDF page 58: https://connect-transit.com/file/3390/02%2025%202025_BoT%20Meeting%20Packet.pdf
Just for future reference, this file is the currect fleet:
38-42 passenger capacity…
Honest question: had anyone seen more than 10 people at a time riding on one of the big buses in town? Like ever?
Why on earth are they buying so many large buses that cost a million dollars a piece?
Why don’t they just use a smaller fleet of the smaller cheaper buses, which are cheaper to fuel and probably cheaper to maintain? Aim for 90%+ capacity use of seats on each line. If someone can’t find a place to sit (ha!) then they can stand like normal people do in the big cities.
Grants specify what size. Free money rules
The “redbird express” bus consistently has more than 10 riders especially @ the Tri-Towers stop. Beyond that you are correct in your observation
I don’t recall seeing 1 electric bus on a route in quite a while. They may have 12 electric buses functioning as high-priced paperweights.
How does a person justify spending $12 million on new assets when they are losing $2 million a month? How about they take that $12 million and put it towards reworking the timing on traffic lights? Or how about fixing pot holes with something better than just filling it with asphalt?
It’s so easy to spend other people’s money. I wish I could have a go at spending money that isn’t mine. How is this not considered theft again?
Grants! Feds and State hand them out like Halloween candy
It least they aren’t requiring electric anymore
But the DOT is still pushing electric busses. The DOT 2030 Goal: Zero-emission buses (ZEBs) = 7,500 (+ 450%) At the time the goal was made America used 1,350 ZEB’s (I wonder how many are permanently parked now)
There are still many Climate Alarmists amoung us. You can’t teach common sense.
https://www.transit.dot.gov/sites/fta.dot.gov/files/2024-02/FTA-Bus-Procurement-Best-Practices-Updates-Webinar-Presentation-02-29-2024.pdf?utm_source=copilot.com