CTE provides technical assistance to mitigate risk and ensure success as Metro Transit electrifies its fleet.

‍In June 2021, representatives from Metro Transit in the St. Louis, Missouri region, its parent organization Bi-State Development, and other regional partners gathered for the official launch of the first battery electric buses into service on the MetroBus system. Metro Transit put a total of 18 electric buses into service as part of the initial launch with another six new buses joining the MetroBus battery electric fleet by the end of this year. The project was funded in large part through the Federal Transit Administration's Low or No Emissions Vehicle grant program and supplemented by local sales tax sources.

The Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) worked with Metro Transit to deploy this initial fleet. Fourteen 60-foot articulated New Flyer battery electric buses are deployed on the highest volume MetroBus route in the City of St. Louis and utilize on-route charging. Four additional GILLIG battery electric buses are deployed on various routes in St. Louis and St. Louis County in eastern Missouri. The electrification of these MetroBus routes supports the bi-state region's sustainability goals and air quality efforts.

CTE is providing project management and technical services and supported the development of Metro Transit's request-for-proposals for charging infrastructure. CTE helped Metro Transit perform bus validation testing to optimize performance in service. As the battery electric buses continue to serve riders in the City of St. Louis and in St. Louis County in Missouri, CTE will continue working with Metro Transit to support ongoing data monitoring and reporting to evaluate bus performance.

"Electric buses create cleaner air, combat climate change, and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels," said Erik Bigelow, Midwest Director at the Center for Transportation and the Environment. "We are honored to be a part of this new chapter for Metro Transit in the St. Louis region and look forward to helping ensure the deployment is a success."