Des Moines transit scraps entire electric bus fleet

Axios

08-04-2025

DART is disposing of its entire electric bus fleet after federal officials recently granted a waiver of its financial interest in the vehicles, transit spokesperson Sarah Welch tells Axios.
Why it matters: The decision means the agency does not have to pay back as much as $2.85 million in federal grants for removing the buses from the road about seven years early.
It also abruptly ended the metro's high-profile electric bus pilot project and added to a growing list of transit agencies that have pulled electric buses from service due to persistent reliability and safety concerns.
Catch up quick: DART debuted the pilot program in 2020 to test how zero-emission vehicles would operate in the metro.
It purchased seven buses for about $865,000 each. A federal grant paid 75% of the cost with expectations that the vehicles would be in its fleet for about a decade.
Zoom in: DART's buses were pulled from service after less than two years because of expiring warranties, critical mechanical failures, safety concerns, and customer and driver complaints.
Proterra, the California-based manufacturer of the buses, filed for bankruptcy in 2023 and was acquired by another company.
What they're saying: The buses were only operable about 60% of the time, which was far below the 90% standard for typical buses, Welch said.
The battery life during extreme weather was one of the issues.
The federal waiver follows repeated failed attempts to resolve major issues with the manufacturer, Welch said.
Yes, but: Although the buses faced reliability problems, the pilot showcased reduced energy costs of about 20% and 60% fewer CO2 emissions than diesel buses, DART noted in a recent blog post.