Electric buses won’t be coming to Acadia National Park. Instead, the state intends to replace its current bus fleet with new low-emission vehicles.
The decision stems from a need to expand the bus fleet and a perception that the Trump administration wouldn’t release the funding for the electric buses, said Paul Murphy, executive director of Downeast Transportation.
“The grant was held up when the new administration came into office. It was held up for quite a while, and we were getting signals that the administration was not so friendly to electric buses or to the idea of electric buses,” Murphy explained.
When the grant was rewritten to switch to buying the low-emission buses, the funds came through, Murphy said.
Last year the Trump administration relaxed many federal grant funding requirements aimed at curtailing climate change for transit projects.
In an email statement, the U.S. Department of Transportation did not address the grant for buses in Acadia specifically, but said, “under President Trump’s leadership, DOT is getting back to basics investing in big, beautiful infrastructure projects that improve American lives.”
“Under Secretary Duffy, hardworking taxpayer dollars will no longer fund Biden-Buttigieg’s costly DEI and climate agenda. If it doesn’t improve American lives, taxpayers won’t be footing the bill,” the department stated.
In 2024, the Maine Department of Transportation was awarded a roughly $23.5 million grant through the U.S. Department of Transportation from Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity funds. Those funds were supposed to go toward electric buses.
President Joe Biden set aside $1.32 billion for the grant fund in early 2025 for local and regional transportation projects.
During an Acadia Advisory Commission meeting Monday, Park Management Assistant John Kelly told commissioners that the cost and availability of the electric buses were the reasons why the state was changing its plans for the electric buses. He made no mention of the Trump administration.
Downeast Transportation is looking to expand ridership, and Murphy said he welcomes the change because switching to the low-emission buses allows the state to not just replace the existing fleet but grow it.
“This was an easy decision for us. It not only got the grant moved but it better serves our needs and the park’s needs in terms of being able to move people out of their automobiles and onto transit,” Murphy added.
The low-emission, propane-powered buses are less than half of the cost of an electric bus, Kelly said. Grant funds would cover 24 electric buses, but that same amount could pay for as many as 40 low-emission buses, he said.
This story appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.