Pueblo receives approval for nearly $20 million to replace diesel transit buses with hybrid versions

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) — The Steel City recently received approval for its request for federal and state funding to upgrade its fleet of transit buses that provide transportation to nearly a million riders annually.

Officials announced the approval late last week, hailing it as the second-largest grant award in city history.

Pueblo requested nearly $4 million from the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) as a matching amount to get $15.6 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT).

Benjamin Valdez, the city's transit director, said that the money will allow for the acquisition of 15 or 16 hybrid buses — which run on diesel and electricity — to replace the existing fleet of diesel buses, similar to the one below, which is already in use by the city.

He explained that GPS technology will determine which areas are best suited for the use of either fuel source.

The hybrid buses — if and when the plan receives City Council approval — will gradually arrive between mid-2027 and early 2028 and increase the city's fleet to 21 or 22 buses.

Valdez said that the existing diesel fleet will be sold at a future auction.

The CDOT funding is part of that agency's ten-year plan to replace all diesel buses in the state.

Similarly, the federal money is from a bus/bus facilities program specifically directed toward buses with low or zero emissions.

However, if the goal is fewer emissions and cleaner air, why doesn't Pueblo skip the hybrid step and switch directly to an all-electric fleet?

Valdex said that the timing isn't right.

"Pueblo is a prime location and altitude, distance of route, and everything else, to run a hydrogen fuel cell, electric vehicle," he detailed. "And, as the technology advances and gets better and gets more certified, that's the direction we want to take it. So, we're going to go into the hybrid model first while they finish perfecting the hydrogen fuel cell model. And then, we'll transition to a hydrogen fuel cell."

A date for the hybrid bus funding to be considered by the Council has yet to be scheduled.