116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Iowa City Transit will add more electric buses despite challenges with current fleet
Four electric buses out of service due to maintenance issues
Aug. 22, 2025 2:11 pm
The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
IOWA CITY — Iowa City Transit still is keeping its long-term goal of a fully electric bus fleet alive even though its four existing electric buses are sidelined due to maintenance issues.
Proterra, the manufacturer of the city’s electric bus fleet, went through Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2023 and later was bought out by Phoenix EV. Iowa City launched its electric bus fleet in 2022.
“Since they have been bought out by Phoenix EV, the level of support and parts availability has dwindled, and it has been a real struggle to maintain the buses, and so they are currently parked right now, waiting for parts and support,” Iowa City Transit Director Darian Nagle-Gamm said.
Nagle-Gamm said the electric buses not being out on the road hasn’t had a huge impact on service levels throughout the city, but it has reduced the number of spare buses available.
The city still is looking to add electric buses in the future, but they will be from Gilling, the city’s current diesel bus partner. The city aims to add four new electric buses from Gilling.
“From our perspective, it's more of a, ‘Let's pivot our manufacturer to someone who's got more reliable vehicles.’ From everyone that we've reached out to that have Gilling electric buses, the reliability is there. We're excited to pivot manufacturers to a manufacturer that's got more decades of experience, and then they also are our current partner for our traditional diesel fleet.”
The city still is waiting to get a final quote back from Gilling on new electric buses. Once the city decides to put in a formal order, it can be 15 to 18 months before the bus is delivered and on the road.
The city owns 27 total vehicles and each of them typically lasts 15 to 20 years. Nagle-Gamm said because of that, the transition to a fully electric bus fleet will be gradual.
“I would say we are still moving in the direction of electric vehicles. It is clearly the future when it comes to transit … it will be a long time before all the buses are transitioned over. But I think our first step is clearly we need to pivot from manufacturers, because Proterra doesn't exist any longer, and Phoenix EV has not been able to provide the level of support and responsiveness with parts that we need,” Nagle-Gamm said.
Comments: megan.woolard@thegazette.com
Get a weekly roundup of Johnson County news by signing up for my Johnson County Update newsletter.
Daily Newsletters