Eco-friendly initiatives

SunTran bus. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette file photo]

SunTran, Ocala’s public transit system, is rolling faster toward putting a new electric bus on city streets, thanks to a $300,000 slice of the Volkswagen emissions scandal funds.

The Ocala City Council on June 3 amended its 2024-25 budget to allocate the $300,000 grant from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The funds do not fully cover the cost of the bus, estimated at $900,000.

The Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust, established from a legal settlement where Volkswagen paid more than $2.9 billion for cheating on emissions tests, supports projects like Ocala’s electric bus purchase to reduce pollution and promote cleaner transportation.

Over time, plans call for the purchase of five electric buses and small vans as well as the expansion of a maintenance center.
SunTran Transit Administrator Tom Duncan said the buses and related infrastructure are expected to be operational by late 2027 and emphasized the streamlined nature of the purchasing process.

“This contract is already in place, the agreements, their pricing and everything’s already determined. So, there’s really no negotiations for it. It’s almost like going to Amazon and ordering a vehicle with our options,” Duncan said.

Greg Davis, public information officer for the city of Ocala, noted that vehicle specifications such as battery capacity, seating configuration and accessibility features are being finalized and a vendor selection process adhering to Federal Transit Administration requirements and city of Ocala policies will follow.

The approved budget amendment supports Amendment No. 1 to Agreement No. VW305, a contract between the FDEP and the city of Ocala/SunTran, originally signed on May 15, 2023, for the purchase of electric transit buses. The amendment extends the project timeline by 24 months, from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2027, providing SunTran additional time to acquire and integrate electric buses into its fleet.

The amendment also adds a provision to the agreement’s “Special Audit Requirements” (Part VI of Attachment 5), requiring the city of Ocala/SunTran to cooperate fully with the FDEP’s Inspector General in any investigation, audit, inspection, review or hearing, as mandated by Florida Statute 20.055(5). Subcontractors or subgrantees involved in the project must also comply with these audit requirements in writing, ensuring transparency in the use of funds.

The $300,000 from the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust builds on significant federal funding awarded to SunTran in 2023.

“Funding for these efforts was awarded by the Federal Transit Administration through the Low or No Emission Vehicle (Lo-No) Program,” Davis said.

Duncan clarified this program further.

“It’s the Federal Transit Administration’s Low or No Emissions Bus and Bus Infrastructure Program and that’s where the city of Ocala put together the application process for that and they were awarded the full funding, which was just over $16.1 million,” Duncan said.

These funds, combined with $4,041,706 in toll revenue credits from the Florida Department of Transportation, as approved by City Council on July 2, 2024 (Resolution BR-2024-151), will support the purchase of the other buses and vans, and expansion of the maintenance center to service the electric vehicles.

To accommodate the new electric vehicles, SunTran is upgrading its infrastructure.

“We have two maintenance bays that will handle two vehicles at a time. So, I’ve got about 13 vehicles in our fleet, and we’re looking to bring in five electric buses and so just capacity and space to work on these additional vehicles, we’re definitely needing some room, so we’re adding two more bays that could be a little bit bigger, with a unique layout, more industry-specific for the electric buses, so that we have an overhead gantry crane system for maintenance and servicing of any battery packs that are on the roof of our vehicles,” Duncan said.

“Our charging stations right now, we’re going to place charging at our maintenance facility. We’re looking at the west-southwest part of town,” Duncan said.

These upgrades will ensure the electric fleet is operational and well-maintained.

“As the city of Ocala continues to explore eco-friendly initiatives, the addition of battery-electric transit buses will further reduce the community’s carbon footprint while enhancing the existing network of public charging infrastructure and electric refuse vehicles,” Davis said.

According to Davis, SunTran has no plans to fully transition to an all-electric fleet.

“SunTran will continue operating a mixed fleet of vehicles,” Davis said.

Duncan expressed enthusiasm for the initiative.

“It’s an exciting program. I’m not going to lie; I’m intrigued by the electric industry. You can look at this in black and white on paper, but there’s always a variance from when you take a concept and you roll it out into reality, you have different possible results. We’re looking to compare that. We do have a transit development plan that’s pretty eager to get rolled out with expansion and it addresses a variety of areas for expansion,” Duncan added.

This includes plans to expand service along the west-southwest part of town and introduce micro-transit options, such as electric vans, to complement the existing fixed-route network, making public transit more accessible for residents, including students and daily commuters.

To learn more, go to ocalafl.gov/government/city-departments-i-z/suntran