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Electrifying CATA’s Fleet

Thursday, June 29, 2023

Categories: Blog

A Nova electric CATA busNearly a half-century ago, CATA launched a bold experiment to bring electric-powered buses to the streets of Lansing. The program was a spectacular failure because electric vehicle (EV) technology just wasn’t ready to support the demands of daily public transportation. CATA has come a long way since those early electric adventures and is now poised to take a giant leap forward by bringing the latest generation of EVs to its passenger fleet. Adopting EV technology will result in significant benefits to the community and planet by reducing CATA’s use of fossil fuels, lowering greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality.

With the help of a $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation and matching funds from the Michigan Department of Transportation, CATA aims to have its first EV buses in service by next year or early in 2025.

Twelve years from now, there’s little doubt that CATA’s fleet will be fully electric. Charting the path from here to there is a key focus of CATA’s efforts to modernize operations and attain the goal to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2035.

This content has been published in the 2023 Community Report.

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