Cincy Flips Bus Switch

Cincinnati Metro plans to put its first battery-electric buses on display Wednesday, April 22, with a public launch at Northside Transit Center. (spectrumnews1.com) Metro said the event runs from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Earth Day, and regional leaders are scheduled to take part in a ceremonial “flip the switch” at 10:30 a.m. (spectrumnews1.com) A battery-electric bus runs on electricity stored onboard instead of diesel fuel, so it produces no tailpipe emissions while in service. Metro’s launch materials describe the April 22 event as the agency’s first use of fully electric buses. (949cincinnati.com, cincinnatimetroauthority.com) The rollout follows several years of fleet upgrades that had focused on hybrid vehicles, which still use fuel but cut emissions compared with older diesel buses. Metro said in 2024 that its 304-bus fleet was entirely hybrid or mini-hybrid at that point. (go-metro.com) Metro has been building toward this switch with outside funding. The agency said in 2022 that OKI awarded $13.4 million in federal grant money for new electric buses and upgrades at its Bond Hill operations and maintenance facility. (go-metro.com) It added more money in later rounds aimed at lower-emission vehicles. Metro said in 2024 that it had received more than $65 million since 2021 for hybrid-electric and battery-electric buses, and that a $4.9 million Diesel Emission Reduction Grant would cover 61% of the cost of replacing eight 2013 diesel buses. (go-metro.com) The bus debut lands in the middle of a broader Earth Day push. Earth Day is observed each year on April 22, and EARTHDAY.ORG says the 2026 theme is “Our Power, Our Planet.” (earthday.org, earthday.org) Cincinnati’s transit agency has tied past Earth Day events to cleaner-fleet messaging as well. In 2023 it used the holiday to promote public transportation and renewable fuels, and in 2024 it introduced 10 new hybrid-electric buses. (go-metro.com, go-metro.com) The electric-bus launch also fits inside Metro’s larger expansion plan after Hamilton County voters approved Issue 7 in 2020. Metro says that sales-tax measure reinvests about $130 million a year into service improvements and other transit projects. (go-metro.com) For riders on Wednesday, the immediate change is mostly symbolic: a first look at buses Metro says mark its move from lower-emission hybrids to zero-emission vehicles. The public event is set for Northside Transit Center at 4021 Spring Grove Ave. (spectrumnews1.com, 949cincinnati.com)