NEW JERSEY — U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) Monday visited the Route 17 Park and Ride in Ridgewood to announce, as part of the recently-enacted Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, that NJ TRANSIT, school districts, and others across the New Jersey will be able to purchase low- and no-emission vans and buses, including electric buses, to help the Garden State combat pollution, reduce emissions, improve air quality, and — given Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — reduce our dependence on foreign oil.
Later Monday, Gottheimer is introducing bipartisan legislation in the House of Representatives to ban the U.S. from importing Russian oil.
In the coming days, the Federal Transit Administration will open applications for communities and transit agencies across the country — including in North Jersey — to help the state claw back federal dollars for low- and zero-emission buses. Over the span of five years, the historic, Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill will invest more than $10 billion in federal grants to improve buses and bus stations, and grants for low and no-emission bus projects.
Diversifying the fleet to include electric buses, and taking an all-of-the-above approach to our domestic energy needs, we can help eliminate America’s reliance on oil from Russia, terrorist states, and other bad actor regimes — with the goal of becoming energy independent. America must stop funding bad regimes, including Putin’s Russia — and adopting Electric Vehicle (EV) infrastructure, including public transit and school buses, is a step in doing so. It’s time to cut off ruthless dictators like Putin from American dollars.
The Administration announced a global utilization of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve — 60 billion barrels — to help get gas prices globally down. Also, existing wells are coming back online in the United States — as we’ve seen now for 18 straight weeks. Overall, the number of active rigs is up more than 60% since this Administration came to office. This should all help relieve global gas prices.
Over the span of five years, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill will:
- Invest more than $10 billion in federal grants to improve buses and bus stations, and grants for low and no-emission bus projects;
- Make key investments to build out a national network of EV chargers;
- Deliver thousands of electric school buses nationwide, by investing $2.5 billion in zero emission buses, $2.5 billion in low emission buses, and $2.5 billion for ferries — helping school districts in North Jersey buy clean, American-made, zero emission buses, and replace the yellow school bus fleet for America’s children;
- Drive demand for American-made batteries and vehicles, creating jobs and supporting domestic manufacturing, while also removing diesel buses;
- Invest in workforce training to help workers gain the skills needed to maintain, repair, and operate this technology; and,
- Help America achieve energy independence by diversifying our fleets, it will also reduce our need to purchase oil from bad regimes around the world.
In 2021, NJ TRANSIT clawed back more than $5 million to purchase electric buses to replace older diesel transit buses — enabling NJ TRANSIT to expand service without adversely impacting air quality in Northern New Jersey. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill will expand this program to include more than $5.5 billion, for low- or no-emission bus projects across the country and here in New Jersey.
As Co-Chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus — a growing group made up of 29 Democrats and 29 Republicans in the House of Representatives, Gottheimer played a key role in helping shape and pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, with colleagues on both sides of the aisle.
“We can’t subsidize Putin’s war in Ukraine with American dollars. The Russians are killing innocent civilians, violating cease fires in refugee corridors, and escalating assaults,” Gottheimer said. “I’m also glad the President announced a global utilization of the Strategic Oil Reserve — 60 million barrels — to help get gas prices globally down. Also, existing wells are coming back online in the United States — as we’ve seen now for 18 straight weeks. Overall, the number of active rigs is up more than 60% since this Administration came to office. This should all help relieve global gas prices.”
“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill will help us fix our crumbling roads, bridges, ports, airports, and rails, help build the Gateway Train Tunnel, clean our children’s drinking water, and invest in climate resiliency and electric vehicle infrastructure. Now, with today’s announcement, by investing in low-or-zero emission buses, we will take a critical step toward American energy independence, and cut off Putin’s largest revenue source. And it does all of this without raising taxes. I’m urging all transit agencies across North Jersey to apply for the federal investment for our buses and public transit — made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill — the greatest infrastructure investment in a century, and the largest investment in clean energy and Electric Vehicle infrastructure in history,” Gottheimer said.
Nearly 270 million passengers a year — most of them North Jersey residents — take NJ TRANSIT buses all over the Tri-state area — with NJ TRANSIT operating more than 2,200 buses and 253 routes.
New Jersey relies on buses every day, but they unfortunately generate harmful air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions like CO2, nitrogen oxide, and diesel particulate matter into our air. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill investment in EV charging infrastructure and in EV buses will help to cut down pollution that gives our children asthma and hurts our health.
