CTA is rolling out more electric buses

Electric buses are coming to another CTA route.

Riders on the 63rd Street bus on Chicago’s South Side will see some electric buses running this week. The route will be the second to get electric buses, which are already running on the busy #66 Chicago Avenue bus that runs through the West Side.

With the expansion, CTA will have 25 electric buses serving passengers. Most of those will continue to run on the Chicago Avenue route, but two will begin running on the 63rd Street route. CTA has equipped three of its seven bus garages to handle all-electric buses.

The additional buses are part of CTA’s march toward converting its fleet of more than 1,800 buses to electric by 2040. The agency estimates it will cost between $1.8 billion and $3.1 billion to make the transition, which will also require building upgrades and installing electric chargers. CTA has eyed federal and state funding to cover all or part of the purchase, and in the last year received $29 million in federal grants.

CTA said in a report last year it would have to purchase its last new diesel bus by 2026 to meet the 2040 electrification deadline, giving the buses time to age and be retired in the next decades. Advocates have previously expressed frustration at the pace of the transition.

The report outlined CTA’s plans to prioritize electric routes on the South and West sides, taking into account what the agency described as equity and environmental justice considerations. CTA officials said Wednesday the agency was prioritizing reequipping bus garages that serve neighborhoods with high air pollution levels.

“Improving bus services and connections for our most transit dependent riders has been and remains a priority for me and our expansion of all-electric buses to serve Chicago’s Far South Side is part of this commitment,” CTA President Dorval Carter said in a statement. “Ensuring equity, the environment and the communities we serve are at the heart of our ‘Charging Forward’ Plan and we look forward to expanding the benefits of all-electric buses, especially to those communities that are disproportionately affected by air pollution, which are often those with low-income and minority populations.”

The 63rd Street bus provided more than 2.4 million rides in 2022.

sfreishtat@chicagotribune.com