St. Louis Airport Uses FAA Grant To Buy Electric Shuttle Buses

St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL) has purchased five electric vehicle (EV) shuttle buses for interterminal passenger transport.

The Missouri airport will deploy ZEV4 electric buses produced by Colorado-based Lighting eMotors. STL is using FAA grant money from the agency’s Airport Zero Emissions Vehicle Pilot Program to acquire the shuttle buses.

Ace Parking currently operates a fleet of 24 Lightning shuttle buses at San Diego International Airport. SP Plus Parking will operate the STL electric buses starting in the fourth quarter. 

Lightning will also provide STL with charging equipment for the vehicles. The buses operating at Lambert “are expected to travel 100 mi. per shift, with at least one operating around the clock using the Lightning-supplied DC fast charger during charging breaks, while the others will be used daily and charged overnight on Level 2 chargers,” Lightning says in a statement.

“The Lightning ZEV4 will allow us to deliver EV shuttles to those that use St. Louis Lambert International Airport sooner,” STL CEO Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge says. “This process will allow us to move from thinking green to being an airport that practices the green concept.”

“Airports provide an ideal use case for electric commercial vehicle fleets, particularly when you couple accessible FAA funding with the real-world operating benefits of EVs,” Lightning Chief Revenue Officer Kash Sethi says. “This order is a great validation that our vehicles and charging technology are ideally suited to help airports achieve their business and environmental goals.”