The county’s Department of Transportation has received a second grant from the Federal Transit Administration to replace diesel busses with 10 new electric busses.

The grant for $4.365 million follows an FTA grant of $1.75 million in September 2017 to purchse four electric busses and charging stations.

“Thank you to the FTA for this grant to purchase more zero-emission, electric buses that will bring Montgomery County closer to our climate-protection goals and help reduce our impact on the environment,” said County Executive Ike Leggett in a press release. “I am especially grateful for the support of our Congressional delegation, Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen and Representatives Jamie Raskin, John Delaney and John Sarbanes, who have worked diligently to approve critical federal transit program funding and effectively advocated for Montgomery County.”

The latest award is one of 107 projects in 50 states and territories to receive funding from FTA’s Buses and Bus Facilities Infrastructure Investment Program

Expanding the use of electric busses is a part of the county’s strategy to use technology to reduce fuel consumption by 20 percent by 2020, the release said. Electric busses also are expected to be more reliable and have fewer breakdowns.

Photo of electric bus by Marc A. Hermann/MTA New York City Transit under Creative Commons license.