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MetroLINK expands electric bus fleet, leads push for renewable energy

Illinois U.S. Senator Dick Durbin visited Rock Island to help announce the expansion.

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — The Quad Cities public transit system, MetroLINK, is adding nine more electric buses to its fleet. 

The buses give off zero-emission and require no liquid fuel. 

In 2018, MetroLINK was the first public transit system in Illinois to add battery-powered buses. Since then, their fleet has grown to more than 15.

RELATED: MetroLINK adds battery-electric buses to fleet

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin was in Rock Island on Tuesday, June 29 to discuss electric vehicles in the Quad Cities. He says this area is leading in the push for renewable energy.

"The fact that these buses were running from 2018 and now they're going to be expanding," said Sen. Durbin, "I don't know if there's another community in our state, maybe in our region that has really been that forward looking when it came to the environmental aspects of transportation, and looking for new technology."

MetroLINK’s electric bus expansion has been funded by nearly $10 million in federal funding, including a $2.9 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration that Durbin helped secure last year.  

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