Green Bay Transit Benefits from Volkswagen Fines

GREEN BAY, WI- (WGBW) – The City of Green Bay’s transit system will benefit from fines collected by the state of Wisconsin from Volkswagen for cheating on emissions tests. The Wisconsin Department of Administration announced the grants to Janesville, Wausau, Beloit, and Green Bay this week.

The Green Bay transit system receives just over $3.9 million for three buses. In total, $11.8 Million in grants will be used to purchase 15 public transit buses throughout the state. 

The new buses will replace old, inefficient buses using funding from the State of Wisconsin Transit Capital Assistance Grant Program. The program is funded through a court settlement resulting from Volkswagen’s violation of the federal Clean Air Act (CAA).

“We’re excited to announce the 3rd round of transit bus replacements made possible through the VW Mitigation program,” said DOA Secretary Kathy Blumenfeld in a press release. “These new, clean diesel, hybrid, and battery electric buses will not only provide reliable rides to employment and shopping for Wisconsin residents and visitors, they will also help make our communities healthier by removing older, dirtier diesel engines from operation.”

Volkswagen admitted to violating the CAA from 2009 through 2016 by selling nearly 590,000 2.0-liter and 3.0-liter diesel engine vehicles equipped with software designed to cheat on federal emission tests. Under Volkswagen’s settlement with the federal government, Wisconsin will receive $67.1 million over ten years to offset excess pollution emitted by affected VW vehicles in the state.

Legislation was established in 2017 to create the Transit Capital Assistance Grant Program to award Volkswagen settlement funds to replace public transit vehicles competitively. The program will fund the replacement of engine models from 1992-2009 with new diesel, alternate-fueled or all-electric buses. All old buses must be scrapped under the terms of the federal settlement. Additional information is available on the VW Mitigation Program website.