BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. — What was already a costly investment in electric buses in South Florida could end up costing taxpayers even more.

Local 10 News has learned that because federal grant money funded a significant portion of the electric bus fleets in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, there are federal guidelines tied to how long those buses are expected to remain in service.

If the buses are taken out of service early, counties may have to repay a portion of that federal funding.

That possibility is now driving decisions in both counties in very different ways.

In Broward County, transit officials have formally asked the Federal Transit Administration for forgiveness in an effort to avoid paying that money back.

“And so one of the things that we are, the application that we submitted to the FTA is for us to be able to get forgiveness from them so that we do not have to reimburse them for the funds that they have provided to us and also to be able to dispose of them,” said Coree Cuff Lonergan, CEO and general manager of Broward County Transit.

In Miami-Dade County, leaders are taking a different approach.

Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said the county is still trying to find a way to get the buses back on the road.

“We are still hopeful we can still put them into service. The company that is the successor company is not able to give us the level of service we need,” she said.

The mayor also said she has personally reached out to other companies about retrofitting the buses.

“I personally have spoken to other companies about ways to retrofit so we can move these buses forward,” she said. “I have not given up hope that we can put them into operation.”

At this point, however, Miami-Dade has not outlined a clear plan if those efforts are unsuccessful.

Nearly 100 buses out of service

A Local 10 investigation first reported earlier this week found nearly 100 electric buses sitting out of service across South Florida.

In Miami-Dade County, about 60 buses have been taken off the road most are being stored at the Homestead Air Reserve Base. In Broward County, 31 buses are sitting at a landfill site.

Together, the counties spent about 96 million dollars on the buses.

A significant portion of that funding came from federal grants.

The buses were manufactured by Proterra and were once promoted as the future of public transit.

Instead, both counties say the buses were plagued with reliability issues.

“They would only do a partial run, and then they would fail, which required us to either send out mechanics or to tow them back into one of the two garages that we have,” Lonergan said. “And that just kept happening and happening.”

Officials say parts have been difficult to obtain because they are proprietary.

Proterra filed for bankruptcy. Its assets were sold to a successor company, but counties say support and parts availability have remained unavailable

Uncertain financial impact

Under federal guidelines, heavy duty transit buses, including electric ones, are expected to remain in service for up to 12 years or 500,000 miles.

If that standard is not met, counties may be required to repay a portion of the federal funding.

Both counties are now working with federal officials on what happens next.

For taxpayers, the bottom line remains uncertain.

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