Georgia State University’s Panther Express buses will switch from growling diesel to an electric purr.
The university on Monday announced it received a $22.29 million federal grant that will pay for all 18 of the diesel vehicles in its fleet to be replaced with electric buses.
University spokeswoman Andrea Jones said the buses are expected to be in operation in fall 2025. In the meantime, a bus depot will be designed and built.
Georgia State said the conversion will make it the first university in the Southeast to have a fully electric bus fleet.
The Panther Express shuttles students around the downtown Atlanta campus, providing connections to the Fairlie-Poplar business district and the Sweet Auburn and Summerhill neighborhoods.
Georgia State President M. Brian Blake said the all-electric fleet will reduce emissions, protect the environment and enhance the health of students, faculty and staff.
“It is another way we are prioritizing sustainability here at Georgia State as well as continuing a sense of placemaking for our community,” he said in a written statement.
The school is among 130 recipients of the funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration, which is doling out nearly $1.7 billion in grants for transit projects. It was the only Georgia entity to receive a grant.
Georgia State said they’ll also use the grant to buy charging equipment for the buses.
During the summer semester, the transit service runs routes from 7 a.m. to midnight on Monday through Friday.
Georgia State’s move to electric buses is part of a larger trend that includes local K-12 school systems.
In November, Atlanta Public Schools announced it would purchase 25 electric buses to replace some of the diesel vehicles in its more than 400-bus fleet with help from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Clayton County Public Schools also received federal funding last fall to buy 25 electric buses.