The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) recently awarded Ohio’s Stark Area Regional Transit Authority (SARTA) $1.75 million, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) said Wednesday.
The funds will be used to purchase two zero-emission fuel-cell buses. SARTA has the nation’s third largest fuel-cell fleet. The new buses will bring the fleet total to 13.
The buses use hydrogen fuel cells which are more efficient and produce fewer emissions than diesel engines.
In February 2015, SARTA was awarded $8.8 million to purchase five buses through the Low or No Emission Deployment Program, and in April 2016, it was awarded more than $4 million to purchase an additional three buses.
“Stark County is a national leader in innovative transportation solutions that get Ohioans to work or school while reducing pollution,” Brown said. “It’s good news that SARTA’s rapidly growing zero-emission bus program will add to its fleet and help reduce emissions in public transportation.”
Brown is a champion of federal investment in zero-emission buses and technologies. He wrote to the FTA in 2014 urging the agency to accept SARTA’s proposal.
Brown is the ranking member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, which oversees the FTA.
In 2009, Brown worked to secure $1 million for Stark State College’s Fuel Cell Prototyping Center.