Plan to Bring Electric Buses to Jackson Hole

START Bus, which serves the Jackson Hole Valley, has applied for a grant to purchase eight electric buses. The buses, which would join START’s all-diesel fleet, would be 80 percent funded by the Federal Transit Administration and 20 percent funded by the local government if the grant is successful. At full price, these buses are roughly twice as expensive to purchase as traditional diesel buses, though there are possible maintenance and fuel savings.

"The Proterra electric buses log a 25.8 mpg gasoline equivalent, a vast increase over buses in START’s current diesel fleet, which average 5.8 mpg," Allie Gross reports for JH News and Guide. The same model of bus is currently in use in Park City Utah, where it deals with a similarly cold, high-altitude climate as the one buses face in Jackson and neighboring towns.