Funds will be used for the Electrification of ATS Vehicles and Supporting Charging Stations
The St. Clair County Transit District (SCCTD) has been awarded a $10,873,440 grant from the Illinois Department of Transportation’s third round of its “Rebuild Illinois” statewide transit capital program. The grant will be used to upgrade SCCTD’s current fleet of Alternative Transportation System (ATS) vehicles by replacing them with electric models and installing charging stations. This funding is part of the state’s $4.6 billion dollar investment in Mass Transit, which is the state’s largest capital investment in its history and the first that is multimodal, allowing IDOT to support premier projects like this one in communities across the state.
The grant will allow SCCTD to build the necessary infrastructure to support the electrification of its ATS fleet, which is comprised of 55 vehicles, as well as charging stations. SCCTD is using the ATS fleet through a contract with Southwestern Illinois College to provide call-a-ride, curb-to-curb service to individuals who are certified as American Disabilities Act (ADA) eligible and those age 60 and older in some areas. These vehicles are also used for SCCTD’s flexible, on-demand, shared-ride Flyer services offered in East St. Louis, Fairmont City, Brooklyn, Scott Air Force Base and Belleville.
“Last year, we received a Congestion Mitigation Area Quality grant to do an electrification study to determine conversion needs,” stated Herb Simmons, Chair of St. Clair County Transit District’s Board of Trustees. “This funding is a huge win. It will afford the opportunity to make and sustain the complete conversion of our ATS fleet to electric. We are beyond grateful to Gov. Pritzker for this funding and his unwavering commitment to transit investment in the state of Illinois.”
Last year, SCCTD received a $9,975,000 “Rebuild Illinois” Grant as part of the second round of funding for the construction on the new, $13,584,000 Public Safety Center at the Emerson Park Transit Center in East St. Louis. A groundbreaking event was held on January 23, 2023, to mark the start of construction on the project.