Background:
Similar to the Board of Supervisors goal of converting the Fairfax Connector bus fleet to zero emissions vehicles by 2035, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Board of Directors adopted a resolution requiring WMATA to transition to a 100% zero-emission bus fleet by 2045. To reach this goal, WMATA is advancing plans to upgrade its operations and maintenance facilities. On Jan. 25, 2023, WMATA broke ground at the Northern Division Bus Garage, which will open with a zero-emission fleet in a few years. WMATA also recently broke ground on facilities at the Bladensburg Bus Garage to support the transition to zero-emission bus.
WMATA has scheduled zero-emissions conversion efforts for the Cinder Bed Road Bus Garage, located in Lorton, Virginia, to begin in FY 2024. Cinder Bed is an important facility not only for Metrobus, but also for Fairfax County. As part of the Richmond Highway Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Project, Fairfax County is negotiating a Joint Use Agreement (JUA) with WMATA to allow the County to house and maintain future battery-electric BRT vehicles at the Cinder Bed Garage.
To help fund their conversion efforts at the Cinder Bed Garage, WMATA is applying for funding through the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Low or No Emission Grant Program and Buses and Bus Facilities Competitive Grant Program. If awarded, this funding would support joint electrification infrastructure costs, such as site preparation and improvements, electric utility improvements, and installation of charging units, as well as construction of other improvements. WMATA staff requested that the County provide a Letter of Support for WMATA’s grant applications.
Should these grant applications be successful, they will help fund improvements to the Cinder Bed facility and reduce costs for WMATA and Fairfax County. Therefore, once the JUA is executed and the County is billed, the County would provide the local match for the grant-funded improvements to the facility associated with the County’s improvements. These funds, approximately $4.3 million, are already included in the Richmond Highway BRT project budget.
Motion:
Therefore, Mr. Chairman, I move that the Board of Supervisors approve the attached letter of support for WMATA’s application for funding from FTA’s Low or No Emission Vehicle Grant Program and/or Buses and Bus Facilities Grant Program.