MA-2023-038↗

APPLICATION PURPOSE: THE PURPOSE OF THIS GRANT IS TO USE $116000000 OF FEDERAL FUNDS AWARDED TO THE MBTA THROUGH THE FFY22 LOW OR NO EMISSIONS VEHICLE PROGRAM TO PURCHASE 80 FORTY-FOOT BATTERY ELECTRIC BUSES AND TO SUPPORT RELATED WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES.; ACTIVITIES PERFORMED: THROUGH THIS GRANT THE MBTA WILL PURCHASE 32 FORTY-FOOT BATTERY ELECTRIC BUSES (BEB) WITH STREETSIDE BOARDING TO REPLACE THE EXISTING FLEET OF ELECTRIC TROLLEYBUS (ETB)/TRACKLESS TROLLEYS IN NORTH CAMBRIDGE AND 48 FORTY-FOOT BEBS WITH CONVENTIONAL BOARDING TO EQUIP QUINCY BUS GARAGE REPLACING 2008/2009 DIESEL BUSES. DELIVERY OF 10 PRE-PRODUCTION BUSES IN CALENDAR YEAR 2024 WILL ALLOW THE AUTHORITY TO GAIN VALUABLE KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE WITH THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY FOUND IN THE NEW BEBS. PRE-PRODUCTION BUSES WILL BE PROVIDED TO MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS FOR IN-SERVICE TESTING MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS TRAINING AND PRELIMINARY FACILITY CHARGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (CMS) OPERATION PROFILE DEVELOPMENT. THE SCHEDULED DELIVERY OF SERIAL PRODUCTION BUSES IS BASED UPON A COORDINATED EFFORT BETWEEN VEHICLE ENGINEERING AND BUS MODERNIZATION TEAMS TO ALIGN WITH THE FORECASTED OPENING OF THE TECHNOLOGIZED NORTH CAMBRIDGE AND NEW QUINCY BEB FACILITIES.IN TERMS OF SCHEDULE THE 10 PRE-PRODUCTION BUSES ARE ANTICIPATED TO BE DELIVERED IN SEPTEMBER 2024 AND HOUSED AT CABOT GARAGE FOR TESTING VALIDATION AND INITIAL TRAINING OF THE WORK FORCE (OPERATORS AND MAINTENANCE STAFF). EFFORTS ARE UNDERWAY TO EQUIP CABOT WITH THE NECESSARY CHARGING EQUIPMENT (2 CHARGERS AND 6 DISPENSERS). ADDITIONAL STORAGE SPACE AND CHARGER CAPACITY IS AVAILABLE AT SOUTHAMPTON GARAGE TO ACCOMMODATE SOME OF THE PRE-PRODUCTION BUSES IF NEEDED. THE 27 STREETSIDE BOARDING BUSES ARE ANTICIPATED TO BE DELIVERED IN SUMMER 2025 WITH THE NORTH CAMBRIDGE GARAGE EXPECTED TO OPEN IN FALL 2025. THE 43 CONVENTIONAL BUSES ARE ANTICIPATED TO BE DELIVERED IN SUMMER 2026 WITH QUINCY GARAGE EXPECTED TO OPEN IN FALL 2026. AFTER DELIVERY OF THE BUSES BUT PRIOR TO THEM GOING INTO SERVICE THE MBTA WILL NEED TO PERFORM CHARGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM STRESS TESTING TO ENSURE SURE EVERYTHING IS OPERATIONAL BETWEEN BUS AND FACILITY. IN THE EVENT THAT BUSES ARE ANTICIPATED TO READY FOR REVENUE SERVICE PRIOR TO THE FULL COMPLETION OF THE NORTH CAMBRIDGE OR QUINCY BUS FACILITIES THE MBTA IS EXPLORING OTHER OPTIONS TO POTENTIALLY PHASE BUS DELIVERY DATES DIFFERENTLY AND/OR FOR ALTERNATIVE BUS ACCOMMODATION AND CHARGING.THIS GRANT ALSO FUNDS WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES RELATED TO EMPLOYMENT OR EDUCATION WITH A DIRECT LINKAGE TO THE BATTERY ELECTRIC BUS PROCUREMENT PROJECT; FOR EXAMPLE DEVELOPING APPRENTICESHIPS ON-THE-JOB TRAINING AND INSTRUCTIONAL TRAINING FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS OCCUPATIONS. THESE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT FUNDS ARE INTENDED TO RETRAIN THE EXISTING WORKFORCE AND DEVELOP THE WORKFORCE OF THE FUTURE INCLUDING VIA REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIPS AND OTHER JOINT LABOR-MANAGEMENT TRAINING PROGRAMS AS OUTLINED IN THE MBTAS ZERO-EMISSION TRANSITION PLAN. ; EXPECTED OUTCOMES: THIS PROCUREMENT IS A KEY COMPONENT OF THE AUTHORITYS BETTER BUS PROJECT BUS ELECTRIFICATION PLAN AND WILL SUPPORT THE AUTHORITYS TARGET OF PROCURING 80-100 VEHICLES ANNUALLY. THIS STRATEGY ESTABLISHES STEADY AND CONSISTENT TIMELINES TO REPLACE AGING BUS FLEETS WITH NEW VEHICLES. BENEFITS OF THIS APPROACH INCLUDE NORMALIZED BUS ACQUISITIONS OPTIMIZED SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE PLANNING AND MORE EFFICIENT USE OF AGENCY RESOURCES FOR STABILIZED OPERATIONS AND COSTS. THIS PROCUREMENT OF THE BEBS WILL OCCUR IN PARALLEL WITH THE SCHEDULED REPLACEMENT OF NEOPLAN ETBS AND NEW FLYER DIESEL BUSES. THE FLEETS BEING REPLACED ARE WELL BEYOND THE FTA MINIMUM USEFUL LIFE OF 12 YEARS.REPLACEMENT OF OLDER DIESEL FLEETS WITH NEW BATTERY ELECTRIC BUSES WILL DRAMATICALLY REDUCE GREENHOUSE GASSES AND IS A KEY COMPONENT OF THE AUTHORITYS BUS ELECTRIFICATION PLAN. THIS PROCUREMENT WILL ALSO INCLUDE BUS ENHANCEMENTS INTENDED TO IMPROVE THE RELIABILITY EFFICIENCY AND OVERALL RIDING EXPERIENCE FOR THE AGENCYS CUSTOMERS. FURTHERMORE NEW VEHICLES WILL HAVE EXTENDED WARRANTY COVERAGE ON MAJOR SUBSYSTEM COMPONENTS TO HELP CONTROL MAINTENANCE COSTS. THE MBTA FLEET TRANSITION WILL GREATLY REDUCE ENERGY CONSUMPTION AND HARMFUL EMISSIONS BY REPLACING DIESEL BUSES WITH BEBS - THE FIRST SUBSTANTIAL STEP IN THE MBTAS AMBITIOUS PLAN TO ELIMINATE BUS EMISSIONS BY 2040 BY TRANSITIONING ALL 1150 BUSES TO ZERO-EMISSION VEHICLES. THE NEW BEBS WILL ALSO ENABLE THE MBTA TO OPERATE REVENUE SERVICE MORE EFFICIENTLY AS THE DIESEL BUSES BEING RETIRED OPERATE OVER 3MILLION MILES PER YEAR AND CONSUME OVER 800000 GALLONS OF FUEL. IN THE NEAR TERM THESE FUNDS WILL ALLOW THE MBTA TO ELIMINATE EMISSIONS FROM ALL ROUTES SERVED BY THE QUINCY AND NORTH CAMBRIDGE BUS FACILITIES. ; INTENDED BENEFICIARIES: THIS PROJECT BENEFITS THE RESIDENTS OF THE MBTA SERVICE AREA AND MOST DIRECTLY THOSE COMMUNITIES SERVED BY BUS ROUTES BASED AT THE NORTH CAMBRIDGE AND QUINCY BUS FACILITIES; SUBRECIPIENT ACTIVITIES: N/A

Project Grant (B) · Federal Transit Administration · to Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (UEI JMUMDCV44J11) · data as of 2026-09-29

Source: USAspending.gov prime award transactions and FSRS subaward reports, as loaded by SpendQuery (data as of 2026-09-29). Amounts are obligations (money committed), not outlays. The official record on USAspending.gov ↗