Department of Administration Announces Grants for the Purchase of Public Transit Buses

Wednesday, February 12th, 2025 -- 10:01 AM

The Department of Administration (DOA) announced $11.8 million in grants for the purchase of 15 public transit buses serving Janesville, Wausau, Green Bay, and Beloit.

The new buses will replace old, inefficient buses using funding from the State of Wisconsin Transit Capital Assistance Grant Program. The program is funded through a court settlement as a result of Volkswagen’s violation of the federal Clean Air Act (CAA), rather than state tax dollars.

“We’re excited to announce the 3rd round of transit bus replacements made possible through the VW Mitigation program,” said DOA Secretary Blumenfeld.

“These new, clean diesel, hybrid, and battery electric buses will not only provide reliable rides to employment and shopping for Wisconsin residents and visitors, they will also help make our communities healthier by removing older, dirtier diesel engines from operation.”

Volkswagen admitted to violating the CAA from 2009 through 2016 by selling nearly 590,000 2.0-liter and 3.0-liter diesel engine vehicles equipped with software designed to cheat on federal emission tests.

Under Volkswagen’s settlement with the federal government, Wisconsin will receive $67.1 million over the ten years to offset excess pollution emitted by affected VW vehicles in the state.

Legislation from 2017 established the Transit Capital Assistance Grant Program to competitively award Volkswagen settlement funds for the purpose of replacing public transit vehicles.

The program will fund the replacement of engine models from 1992-2009 for transit buses in classes 4-8, with new diesel, alternate fueled or all-electric buses.

All old buses must be scrapped under the terms of the federal settlement. Wausau requested 10 buses for $6,400,000 and $15,000 for scrapping old buses with the total grant request coming to $6,415,000.

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