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Denver’s Regional Transportation District (RTD) has long billed itself as a clean-transit pioneer, pledging to convert its aging fleet to zero-emission electric buses in line with Colorado’s climate goals.
Yet, in a shocking turn of events, RTD now plans to borrow $539 million over the next five years to buy new diesel buses, according to the Denver Post this weekend, “RTD plans to borrow $539 million for diesel buses, sidelining hopes for electric.”
Where’d all the electric bus money go?
The Official Explanation
According to internal documents reviewed by The Denver Post, RTD will purchase diesel buses to replace units nearing the end of their 12-year or 500,000-mile useful life, per the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Bus Useful Life Policy. The agency operates an aging fleet of roughly 995 diesel buses across a 2,342-square-mile service area, according to the RTD website.
RTD Chief Executive and General Manager Debra Johnson cited several constraints in an emailed statement to the Post, including “the impact of tariffs on the supply chain, scarcity of original equipment manufacturers, Buy America/Build America restrictions, and lack of availability of low- or zero-emission vehicles.”
In other words, they couldn't buy the electric buses because there aren't buses to buy.
So where did the money go?
Promise Made But Rarely Kept
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) — signed in 2021 — authorized $5.62 billion nationally for Low- or No-Emission (Low-No) Bus Grants and more than $100 billion for public transit improvements. These programs were designed to help agencies like RTD replace diesel fleets and install charging infrastructure.
While billions were announced in grant awards between 2022 and 2024, actual delivery lagged. As of August 31, 2025, the US Department of Transportation (DOT) reported that 73.9 percent of IIJA transportation funds had been obligated and only 41.1 percent had been spent — in four years.
That means many transit agencies — including RTD — had grant authorizations and made plans, but the projects had not materialized by the time the aging diesel buses hit retirement deadlines.
But this wasn’t a surprise to RTD. They knew about it. They supposedly planned for it.
RTD’s own Facilities & Fleet Transition Plan (Dec. 2024) anticipated this very timing problem. It warned that charging and maintenance upgrades must precede or align closely with bus purchases to avoid “stranded assets” if vehicle delivery outpaced infrastructure readiness.
But here's the thing: they didn't deliver on vehicle delivery OR infrastructure readiness. Billions for buses they couldn't buy or charge.
Where'd the money go?
Not a Trump-Era Problem
RTD’s statement attributing the diesel pivot to tariffs and Buy America rules reflects genuine industry constraints. However, those rules have been in effect since the IIJA’s enactment under the Biden administration, and implementation delays have been widely documented by the DOT Inspector General and FTA progress reports.
Federal and state programs have pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into Colorado’s electric bus transition, but there weren't buses to by or places to charge them.
So why can’t RTD use the electric bus money for the diesel buses?
No public accounting has yet been provided to explain whether RTD’s earlier electrification funding — grant-based or budgeted — remains in place. Were prior electric-transition funds spent, reallocated, or lost? Are we paying for both kinds of buses?
Where did all the money go?
Accountability Matters
This sudden, $539M emergency appears rooted — not in Trump-era tariffs or unforeseen regulatory shifts — but in the bad policy of a Democrat-led state government and the unfulfilled promises of a Democrat-led federal government.
And until the government(s) explain what happened to the electrification money, the people funding the government(s) have no reason to believe borrowing $539M isn’t just good money after bad. What is the interest going to be?
RTD’s $539 million diesel borrowing plan is not just a budget adjustment — it is a litmus test for Colorado’s tolerance level for this ongoing scam. But, even with public intolerance, there is little the people of Colorado can do.
Under Colorado Revised Statute §32-9-101 (the Regional Transportation District Act), however, the Colorado General Assembly has oversight authority for RTD. Prior to any further taxpayer investments, legislators must demand an accounting:
- Grant Lifecycle Audits: Provide award, obligation, and disbursement dates for every Low-No or related IIJA grant tied to RTD.
- Procurement and Infrastructure Schedules: Compare charger installation timelines with diesel procurement authorizations.
- Evidence Supporting Supply-Chain Claims: Release vendor correspondence and bid records that document OEM shortages or tariff impacts.
- Inter-agency Coordination Records: Disclose communication between RTD, CDOT, and FTA regarding grant execution delays.
- Comparative Benchmarks: Examine whether peer agencies that received similar grants faced the same delays or managed timely transitions.
If that level of accounting, the people would get answers about what happened to all the electrification money.
That's a lot of work, though. It's easier to blame Trump hope everyone forgets their ongoing scam.
________
Related: RTD's issues aren't limited to buses.
Remember this banger? "'2024 will go down as the year of transit,' said Danny Katz, Director of the Colorado Public Interest Research Group.'
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