photo by: Nick Krug/Journal-World File Photo

A Lawrence transit rider boards a bus on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017, downtown at Seventh and Vermont streets.

Lawrence Transit is moving forward with its effort to transition the city’s fleet of diesel buses to cleaner, quieter electric buses.

As part of its meeting Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission is considering an agreement as part of its consent agenda for the second phase of the city’s process to transition to zero-emission electric buses. Meanwhile, work continues on the first phase of the process, which will begin to replace diesel buses with electric buses later this year.

In 2020, the city received a $3.75 million federal grant, which required a local match of $2.2 million, to purchase its first five zero-emission electric buses and charging stations. Transit and Parking Manager Adam Weigel said work on the charging infrastructure is getting underway and the custom-made buses will soon start being built, with the first one estimated to arrive in late March. That bus will be tested out, and it’s expected the following four buses will arrive in April.

“I’m excited for them to get here and for people to be able to ride them,” Weigel said.

Initially, Weigel said the electric buses would be supplemental to the existing routes, as drivers and maintenance personnel get trained on the new technology and the buses are tested to see how topography and stops affect their range. He said it’s expected the five buses will fully enter the fleet in August. The city won another federal grant in June 2021 for $1.8 million that will help purchase two additional zero-emission electric buses, and Weigel said those buses would follow a similar implementation schedule in 2023, meaning they would be fully incorporated into the fleet in August 2023.

photo by: City of Lawrence

A mock-up shows a proposed design for the city’s new electric buses.

Once the second phase of electric buses are rolled out, seven of the city’s 19 buses will be fully electric, meaning more than a third of the fleet will have transitioned completely away from diesel. The city also has three diesel-electric hybrids, which use an electric battery until the bus reaches 25 mph, at which point the diesel engine kicks in.

Weigel said the hope is that as the city’s diesel buses wear out — he said the typical life span is about 12 years or 500,000 miles — they would all be replaced by electric buses. He said the city’s goal was to purchase about two to three electric buses per year, but since they are about twice as expensive as diesel buses, continued federal funding to support those purchases would be key.

“If we don’t win grants a couple years in a row or something, I think we would be faced with a tough choice,” Weigel said, regarding the goal of not purchasing any additional diesel buses.

Ultimately, he said Lawrence Transit seeks to meet the renewable energy goals set by the Lawrence City Commission. The commission adopted an ordinance in March 2020 that states the city will strive to achieve the use of 100% clean, renewable energy for all energy sectors by 2035.

As part of its meeting Tuesday, the City Commission will consider a $240,000 professional service agreement with the Center for Transportation and the Environment for project management services for the second phase of the city’s process to transition to zero-emission electric buses. The funding for the agreement is included in the $2.51 million allocated in the city’s budget for transit vehicle replacement, 72% of which is funded by the federal grant and the remainder by the city’s transportation fund.

The Lawrence City Commission will meet virtually at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, and some staff will be in place at City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St. The public may attend the meeting in person at City Hall or participate virtually by following directions included in the commission’s meeting agenda, which is available on the city’s website, lawrenceks.org.