Wave Transit awarded $1.02M for new low-emission shuttles

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Wave Transit competed for the Federal Transit Administration Low or No Emission Grant and was awarded $1.02 million.

The grant will fund six new vehicles which would replace aging shuttle vehicles transitioning the last of this vehicle type from diesel to Compressed Natural Gas.

Ridership in Wave’s Seahawk Shuttle increased 48% this year and 28% across all fixed routes.

Wave plans to distribute the new vehicles primarily on Seahawk Shuttle routes and other fixed routes as needed.

They submitted for the grant in June with authorization from the Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority Board of Directors.

In order to receive federal funding, $180,000 is required for the project.

The FTA awarded $2 billion across 165 projects and 45 states with Wave Transit and Winston-Salem Transit Authority being the only two in North Carolina to receive funding.

In 2023, Wave Transit won FTA Low or No Emission Grant and used the funds to purchase four Compressed Natural Gas fixed-route buses and one Compressed Natural Gas shuttle, transitioning the last of its fixed route buses away from diesel.