Duke awards grants to Raleigh-area transit companies for electric buses

Duke Energy awarded $300,000 in grants to two Raleigh, N.C.-area transit companies to fund electric bus-charging stations.

Duke provided GoRaleigh — the city’s public transit bus service — with $200,000 to help offset the cost of purchasing five new electric buses and installing five electric bus-charging stations. GoRaleigh operates 84 buses, serving about 17,000 passengers per day, and covering 144 square miles. It is converting its diesel fleet to natural gas and electric fueled vehicles. The new electric buses will arrive in August and September of 2020.

“We’re pleased our grants can help transit agencies in the Triangle area transition to cleaner bus fleets that help the environment,” Stephen De May, president, Duke Energy’s North Carolina, said.

Duke also invested $100,000 in GoTriangle for two charging stations for two electric buses. GoTriangle operates 69 buses and averages more than 6,000 passengers per day on its routes.

“We greatly appreciate Duke Energy’s investment in our electric-bus efforts,” Shelley Blake Curran, GoTriangle’s interim CEO and president, said. “As we improve and increase our services that better connect all points of the Triangle every year, we are excited to be exploring ways to better protect the environment, too.”

Duke Energy has helped fund almost 200 public electric vehicle charging stations in North Carolina since 2016. Among its grants, Duke provided funding to the city of Asheville and the City of Greenville with its electric bus infrastructure.