Green Mountain Transit in Vermont is experiencing significant difficulties with its electric bus fleet this winter as the vehicles cannot charge in temperatures below 41 degrees, compounded by a battery recall that prevents indoor charging due to fire hazards.
The Vermont Daily Chronicle reports that Vermont’s Green Mountain Transit system is confronting serious operational obstacles with its electric bus fleet during the current winter season. The transit agency’s electric buses require temperatures above 41 degrees Fahrenheit to charge, but a battery recall citing fire hazards has prohibited the vehicles from being charged inside garages, leaving them unable to operate during cold weather.
Larry Behrens, spokesman for Power the Future, an energy workers advocacy group, criticized the situation. “Taxpayers were sold an $8 million ‘solution’ that can’t operate in cold weather when the home for these buses is in New England,” Behrens said. He added that the situation has moved beyond appearing as incompetence and suggested it resembles fraud. “When government rushes money out the door to satisfy green mandates, basic questions about performance, safety, and value for taxpayers are always pushed aside,” Behrens said. “Americans deserve to know who approved this purchase and why the red flags were ignored.”
Clayton Clark, general manager at Green Mountain Transit, explained the circumstances that led to the electric bus purchases. “The federal government provides public transit agencies with new buses through a competitive grant application process, and success is not a given,” Clark said. He noted that from 2020 to 2024, the Federal Transit Administration prioritized grants for low or no emission vehicles, with diesel bus grant requests often being denied. “This was part of a concerted effort of the previous administration to accelerate public transits’ migration to replace diesel buses,” Clark said.
Clark stated that to remain competitive for grant funding, Green Mountain Transit viewed electric battery buses as the best pathway to obtain new buses. “Green Mountain Transit’s priority is new buses, regardless of the type,” Clark said. The transit system’s electric battery buses are funded 90 percent by federal and Volkswagen settlement funds.
According to Clark, the five electric buses were operating satisfactorily until November 2025 when the batteries were recalled due to fire hazard concerns. The recall prompted a software update from New Flyer to decrease the likelihood of fire, which included limiting bus charging to 75 percent capacity and prohibiting charging when the battery temperature falls below 41 degrees. “Previously we could charge in any temperature to 100%,” Clark said.
Because Green Mountain Transit’s bus garage lacks suitable fire mitigation equipment to store or charge electric buses indoors at this time, the transportation system cannot utilize its electric buses when temperatures drop below 41 degrees. Clark noted that since the charging barrier below 41 degrees is merely a software update, the manufacturer could potentially find a technical solution quickly. The transit agency is pursuing a financial remedy from New Flyer that could lead to litigation if not resolved. Clark stated that New Flyer has indicated replacement batteries will be installed within 18 to 24 months. The transit system is also working on improving its fire mitigation equipment through a pending federal grant.
Breitbart News previously reported that multiple school districts have ditched electric school buses which prove difficult to maintain:
The return to diesel school buses comes as Quebec-based Lion Electric, which the Biden administration awarded $159 million “to manufacture 435 school buses between 2022 and 2024,” has fallen into bankruptcy, according to the Washington Free Beacon. As a result, the company has “warned school districts that its dire financial straits prevent it from servicing” the electric school buses.
Several superintendents explained to the outlet that while they would try to keep the “electric fleet” of school buses operating “for as long as possible,” they would eventually have to “return to diesel” due to diesel school buses being more affordable.
Read more at the Vermont Daily Chronicle here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
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