When DART updated nearly half of its bus fleet in 2012 and 2013, it opted for vehicles fueled by compressed natural gas. But fossil fuels are so 20th century, hence the transit agency's just-announced plans to add all-electric buses.
DART isn't about to electrify its entire fleet. The plan right now is limited to the replacement of the pink-and-yellow CNG buses currently running the D-Link shuttle route through Oak Cliff and downtown with Proterra EcoRides.
See also: Meet Dallas' New Oak Cliff Streetcars
These nine vehicles, along with quick-charge stations (10-minute recharge), will cost around $13 million, which DART hopes to partially offset with a Federal Transit Administration grant. The rest would come from DART and some combination of funding partners like the city of Dallas, the North Central Texas Council of Governments, the NTTA, and others.
A model of the bus, which is in use in San Antonio (Austin has the fuel-cell model) and a half dozen other cities, will be on display to the media outside the DART headquarters from 3 to 4 p.m. on Tuesday.
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