Bass, Buttigieg tout $77.5 million in funding awarded to Metro for zero-emission bus project

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg toured a Metro bus division on Thursday while highlighting $77.5 million in new federal funding for a zero-emission bus and charging infrastructure project.

The buses "cleaner, they're also quieter and they also have a better long-term future in terms of the maintenance picture," Buttigieg told reporters after a news conference outside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. "They literally just have fewer moving parts. But there can be an up-front cost, which is why we are supporting communities like Los Angeles with the funding."

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's funding award is the second largest in the country out of 117 projects that the Federal Transit Administration selected for funding from 477 eligible applications, according to a news release.

The funds are earmarked to help the agency purchase dozens of battery electric buses, install new chargers and expand workforce development training at its West Hollywood bus division.

The new electric buses will run on multiple lines throughout L.A. County and are expected to enhance mobility with direct access to Metro rail lines.

"Just as LA Metro was on the forefront in ushering in the cleanest bus fleet in the nation years ago, so we are once again leading the way with zero emissions buses," Supervisor and Metro Board Chair Janice Hahn said in a statement when the new funding was announced last week. "This federal funding will help us get one step closer to that zero emissions future that we need here in LA County.

As Los Angeles prepares to host the 2028 Olympics, one of the major factors that will decide the success of the games is transportation.

$700 million of the funds come from the bipartisan infrastructure law and the recently passed appropriations bill.