Minneapolis electric buses 2026, Metro Transit adds 20 battery electric buses funded by a 17,500,000 dollar grant

Minneapolis electric buses 2026

Minneapolis electric buses 2026 is the result of a federal grant program that ties dollars directly to a bus count and a service date. Metro Transit, the public bus system for the Minneapolis area, puts 20 new 40 foot battery electric buses, buses that run on stored battery charge alone rather than burning fuel, onto ordinary local routes in 2026. It is the first order the agency has made for electric buses built for regular routes rather than the rapid routes where it already runs electric service. A Federal Transit Administration Low or No Emission grant awarded in 2023, 17,500,000 dollars, paid for those 20 buses and 18 bus storage chargers.

A modern, sustainable fleet is fundamental to carrying out our mission of connecting people, strengthening communities and improving lives.

Lesley Kandaras, Metro Transit General Manager. Source 5.

The fleet before the 20 buses arrive

Every electric bus Metro Transit has run since 2019 has been a 60 foot bus on a single rapid route, the C Line, with 5 more planned for the Gold Line. The 20 buses arriving in 2026 are smaller, 40 foot buses built for the regular routes that carry most riders, which is why the fleet still counts 509 40 foot diesel buses and 55 40 foot hybrid electric buses, hybrid buses that pair a battery with a combustion engine, ahead of a single 40 foot battery electric bus. The Metro Transit planning page also sets a procurement target, at least 20% of 40 foot bus replacements have to be electric between 2022 and 2030, a target neither news outlet used for this article repeats, and it is why 40 foot electric buses are only entering local service now rather than years after the 60 foot electric buses started running.

Checking the grant behind the buses

The 17,500,000 dollar figure is not one agency claim standing alone. The Metro Transit planning page states it directly, the Minnesota Department of Transportation runs a separate funding tracker that records the same federal grant independently, and a news report states it again. Checking the state funding tracker directly, rather than relying on the transit agency page or news coverage by itself, is the kind of confirmation only reading a primary record makes possible, and it is what lets this article state the grant figure with 3 sources behind it rather than 1.

A second grant funds hybrid buses in 2027

A second, separate federal grant, 35,000,000 dollars awarded in 2025, funds a different technology, 100 more 40 foot hybrid electric buses due across the system by 2027, 12 of them on the A Line between Minneapolis and Roseville. Battery electric buses run on stored charge alone, while hybrid electric buses still carry a combustion engine, so the 2 grants are not buying more of the same bus. Metro Transit says a hybrid electric bus costs about 25% more to buy than a diesel one but saves 20% to 25% on fuel, and more than 250 buses of all types enter service across 2025 and 2026 in a fleet of just over 700 buses in total.

We said we have a lot of regular sized buses that we need to replace, let's make an investment into a new generation of hybrid technology.

Brian Funk, Metro Transit Chief Operating Officer. Source 2.