WASHINGTON DC – An $80 million grant announced Monday (June 26, 2023) for SEPTA will help it modernize transit facilities throughout its multi-county system.
Pennsylvania’s two U.S. senators, Bob Casey and John Fetterman, said the money would allow SEPTA to support clean-energy buses with resilient charging equipment. The money is part of a $1.7 billion package for transit projects in 46 states and territories. The sum follows an earlier grant of $23.3 million that SEPTA won to make the transition to a zero-emissions fleet.
Switching to cleaner operating vehicles will make Southeastern Pennsylvania’s air cleaner to breathe, Casey and Fetterman said. The change to low- to no-emission “American-made buses is critical,” Fetterman claimed. “This funding is a big investment,” he said, at a time when “more and more Pennsylvanians rely on SEPTA for their transit needs.”
The grant comes from the U.S. Department of Transportation Low- or No-Emission Vehicle Program, as part of the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The program provides financing to buy or lease of zero-emission and low-emission transit buses. It also pays for acquisition, construction, and leasing of required support facilities.
SEPTA had applied for the assistance. General Manager and CEO Leslie S. Richards thanked Casey, Fetterman, and the state Congressional delegation for their support. The agency “is committed to transitioning to a fully zero-emission bus fleet,” she said.
SEPTA bus and bicycle photo for Travels With The Post from a SEPTA YouTube video