Denver International Airport will buy eight new electric buses to replace some of its natural-gas fueled shuttles that move travelers between the economy parking lots and the airport.
Denver City Council accepted a grant to fund the purchase on Monday afternoon, approving the measure without discussion.
The grant from the state will fund the purchase and maintenance of eight buses through the end of November 2029. The electric buses will replace some of the airport's smaller "cutaway" buses. They won't replace any of the larger 40-foot buses.
The electric buses will make up only a small portion of the airport's shuttle fleet, which currently includes 76 vehicles.
Where’s the money coming from?
The airport is getting a $976,000 grant from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Clean Fleet Vehicle and Technology Grant Program. That money is available for governments, private companies and municipalities statewide.
The cost of the new buses isn't clear yet, since the airport hasn't gone through the procurement process to decide where to buy the vehicles. Airport officials expect they'll have to build more charging stations at the bus corral to support the electric shuttles.
The grant funding comes from a 2021 state Senate bill that allocated $5 billion to transportation and infrastructure projects statewide. The money came from a mix of the state’s general fund, one-time stimulus dollars and new fees on gasoline sales, food delivery and more.
In total, the state program has paid for 23 projects statewide, making $20.5 million available, in this funding round.
Recipients include UPS, the University of Colorado Board of Regents, Xcel Energy Services, and cities like Golden and Longmont, which also received money for fleet electrification.
Other Denver recipients of the $20.5 million in CDPHE money include Denver's Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency and Denver Water.
The news comes days after the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management published a report stating Colorado is adopting plug-in EVs faster than any state in the country.
This round of Clean Fleet Vehicle and Technology grants was awarded in October. Next year, governments and companies can apply again.
