TETON VILLAGE, Wyo. — On June 26, the Teton Village Association was awarded a $945,178 grant from President Biden’s Federal Transit Administration to buy low or no-emission buses and bus facilities.
For more than 20 years, Teton Village Association Improvement and Service District has offered free and frequent public transit via the Transportation Demand Management (TDM) program, in addition to free parking for carpools, to mitigate for traffic on WY390.
“We saw an opportunity to extend our environmental stewardship by transitioning from diesel buses to electric buses,” Melissa Turley, executive director of the Teton Village Association (TVA), says of the initiative to shift towards electric buses.
According to Turley, TVA anticipates introducing four electric buses and chargers in the fall of 2024. The chargers will be installed in the bus bays in the Teton Village maintenance lot that sits east of the Ranch parking lot.
Although Tesla confirms electric vehicles lose range in the winter due to batteries draining faster at colder temperatures, Turley doesn’t seem to anticipate that being a setback.
“We raised questions about extreme cold with our vendor, and they feel confident these electric buses will perform, though the battery charge isn’t expected to last as long as it would in warmer temperatures,” Turley says.
TVA will also fund the 20 percent local match, which is $166,796.25, from their capital projects fund supported by the Teton Village Resort District.
