PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. — Ninety-six million dollars’ worth of electric buses sit idle across South Florida, some parked in a landfill, others lined up at the Homestead Air Reserve Base.

In Miami-Dade County, commissioners are demanding answers.

In Broward County, officials are working with the federal government on a plan to get rid of them.

Across South Florida, dozens of electric buses purchased with tens of millions of taxpayer dollars remain parked and out of service, more than a year after they were pulled from the road.

Right now, no one knows exactly what comes next.

In Miami-Dade, frustration is growing inside County Hall.

Roberto Gonzalez and Natalie Milian Orbis co-sponsored a resolution in January requiring the administration of Daniella Levine Cava to produce a detailed report outlining what went wrong with the county’s electric bus fleet and what the plan is moving forward.

The resolution gave the mayor 30 days to deliver that report.

That deadline has now come and gone.

No report has been publicly released.

“If these buses are not working efficiently, not out there saving the environment and not out there servicing the residents of Miami-Dade County, then we need to get that money back,” Gonzalez said.

Milian Orbis called the situation a red flag and said the county cannot afford to let millions of dollars sit idle without a plan.

“We need to have a plan. We cannot leave it by the wayside. We need to take action,” she said.

Mayor Levine Cava has acknowledged the failure.

“It is very sad. This is a sad story,” she said. “Obviously the wrong choice was made.”

She added that the county has worked to try to secure parts and repairs and said, “We are still hopeful we can still put them into service.”

In Broward County, the focus has shifted away from fixing the buses and toward getting rid of them.

Transit officials confirm they are working with the federal government to determine how to dispose of the fleet, a process required because federal grant money was used to purchase the vehicles.

Thirty-one electric buses are currently sitting in a remote section of a landfill off U.S. 27, each one costing roughly $1.1 million.

Coree Cuff Lonergan said the buses “continued to fail” and described the situation as “a deep disappointment.”

“We absolutely did our best to keep the buses on the road,” she said.

She also revealed that problems are not limited to Proterra buses.

“We did take delivery of two additional buses from a different manufacturer and they do not work either,” she said.

Lonergan said Broward is exploring whether any of the funding can be recovered.

“Are there any opportunities to get reimbursed or to recover any of the funds? Yes, absolutely,” she said.

For now, the county is waiting on federal approval before making its next move.

In Miami-Dade, the buses remain parked.

At the Homestead Air Reserve Base, rows of electric buses sit idle in what has become one of the most visible symbols of the problem. Sky 10 counted dozens of buses stored there.

Additional buses are stored at the Northeast Bus Facility near Miami Gardens Drive.

Together, they represent a significant public investment that is currently delivering no return.

Miami-Dade Transit confirms 69 Proterra buses were purchased at a cost of $61.8 million, including federal, state, and local surtax funding.

Just a few years ago, the rollout of these buses was celebrated.

In 2023, Mayor Levine Cava unveiled the new electric fleet, calling it the future of public transit and highlighting the environmental and cost-saving benefits.

The buses were manufactured by Proterra, which at the time was seen as a leader in electric transit technology.

Miami-Dade’s plan was to eventually transition its entire fleet to electric.

But problems quickly emerged.

The buses experienced repeated mechanical failures. They broke down frequently. Replacement parts became difficult and at times impossible to obtain.

Then Proterra filed for bankruptcy.

That left counties like Miami-Dade and Broward with fleets of specialized buses and no reliable way to maintain or repair them.

The issue extends beyond South Florida.

Proterra sold more than 1,300 electric buses across the United States and Canada. Transit agencies in cities such as Austin, Philadelphia, and Louisville are dealing with similar problems.

In Miami-Dade, commissioners are still waiting for a report that was due weeks ago.

In Broward, officials are waiting on the federal government before they can move forward with disposal or recovery.

Questions remain about the cost and reliability of electric transit fleets moving forward.

Miami Dade Commissioner Roberto Gonzalez has raised concerns about the financial reality, saying electric buses can be far more expensive to operate than diesel models. “It takes much more money to operate the electric one as opposed to the diesel one,” he said.

Still, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava is standing by the county’s commitment to electrification. She said Miami-Dade plans to continue moving forward with electric buses, adding that she believes electric vehicles remain the future despite the current setbacks.

Levine Cava said a detailed report on the county’s electric bus fleet will be released to commissioners in the near future.

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