Mesa County approves $100,000 CDOT grant to study zero‑emission transit options

Mesa County commissioners on Jan. 20 approved a $100,000 grant agreement with the Colorado Department of Transportation to fund a feasibility study on transitioning local transit to zero‑emission vehicles. The board recorded the vote as 3–0.

Andy Gingrich, a transit planner, told the board the study — part of the state’s Clean Transit Enterprise program — will evaluate how much of Grand Valley Transit’s fleet already qualifies as zero‑emission because some compressed natural gas is sourced from recaptured methane. “Instead of flaring off gas at the Persigo wastewater treatment facility, we flare it off inside of our buses,” Gingrich said.

The study will determine what the county already qualifies for, identify opportunities for future bus replacements and evaluate the feasibility of expanding renewable natural gas (RNG) and battery electric vehicles. Gingrich said the grant requires a 10% local match and that the county’s existing CNG fleet has made it competitive for low‑emission funding.

Commissioners questioned cost and operational tradeoffs between battery electric buses and CNG/RNG. Gingrich said battery buses can be more expensive and face range limitations that may require additional vehicles; he said there may be roles for battery vehicles in paratransit or peak‑service use but that Mesa County’s partial use of RNG is a practical near‑term route.

The motion to approve the grant was made and seconded during the meeting after no public comment was offered on the item. The board authorized the regional transportation planning director to execute the agreement.

Next steps: staff will move forward with the feasibility study and return any required follow‑ups to commissioners; the study is intended to produce publicly shared findings that other communities can use as a model.