Marin electric bus hub project gets $31.5M grant

The Biden administration has awarded Marin Transit a grant of $31.5 million to construct a hub for its growing fleet of electric buses.

The grant, the largest the agency has received, comes as Marin’s main local fixed-route bus operator and other transit agencies are working to replace their gas-powered fleets with all-electric or other no-emission replacements by the state’s 2040 target.

Nancy Whelan, the general manager of Marin Transit, said the new hub, which would be able to store, repair and recharge up to 40 electric buses, will be vital as the agency expands its electric fleet.

“We don’t own enough property to house or maintain our current fleet, so we rely on contractors using either their own space or leased spaces all across the county,” Whelan said. “All of our buses are stored and maintained at various locations across the county. It’s not very efficient to do that. We’re trying to find a more consolidated approach to park and now charge our buses.”

The grant was the largest the U.S. Department of Transportation provided to any transit agency in California as part of a competitive program funded by the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure and Jobs Act passed in 2021.

The grant covers most of the estimated $46.7 million project. The remaining costs will be funded using Marin Transit’s property tax revenue, which the agency has saved in reserves in preparation for the project, according to Lauren Gradia, the agency’s finance director.

Marin Transit has acquired six electric buses since 2018. They are charged at the agency’s bus center in Novato.

The agency’s fleet also includes 39 hybrid buses, 20 diesel-powered buses and 14 gas-powered cutaway buses used for paratransit services.

Whelan said the agency plans to acquire 17 more electric buses before the end of the decade. It is preparing to add four by 2027, two in 2028 and 10 in 2030. The agency also plans to add an electric paratransit shuttle within the next year.

While the agency has secured the necessary funding for the bus hub, it has yet to find a location. Whelan said the goal is to find a 5-acre property, which is about twice the size of its bus sites in San Rafael and Novato. In addition to the charging stations, the center would include a mechanical bay as well as administrative and office buildings, Whelan said. The center would also need to generate enough power to recharge the 40 buses.

Whelan said the agency hopes to have a location acquired by 2025 in order to allow enough time to complete the required environmental studies and construction. The estimated project cost includes the property acquisition, according to Gradia.

“2030 is kind of that tilting point for us because that’s when we have 10 new electric buses coming in,” Whelan said. “There is no way we can squeeze them into the places that we currently have available. That’s why this grant was so exciting to us because we were up against this schedule.”

Wendi Kallins, who is president of the environmental group Sustainable Marin and a member of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s advisory council, said transit will be key to reducing greenhouse gas emissions that are fueling climate change. Transportation is the largest source of emissions in Marin County, but much of this is caused by personal vehicles.

“Not only do we need to electrify our transit systems but create a transit system that is convenient and frequent and affordable for everyone,” Kallins said. “I think Marin Transit has done a better job than other transit agencies around the county.”

Anne Richman, who heads Marin’s traffic congestion management agency, the Transportation Authority of Marin, said the project will be “transformative” for Marin Transit and efforts to transition transit services away from gas power.

“Bigger picture, the size of this federal award is really significant in allowing them to really move ahead expeditiously with their project,” Richman said.

Rep. Jared Huffman, a Democrat from San Rafael, said the award fulfills the promise that he and other members of Congress made after passing the Infrastructure and Jobs Act.

“Public transportation is a fundamental part of that equation, and these grants are going to help create a greener, more modern way to get people where they need to go,” Huffman wrote in a statement. “Another huge benefit of electrifying our region’s bus fleets is that every one of these clean electric busses is potentially a mobile generator to help communities respond to disasters and power outages.”

“Clean energy is the future, and by investing in these buses we can supercharge our transition while improving lives, creating jobs, and reducing planet-killing emissions,” Huffman said.