Coming Soon: Airport’s First Electric Shuttle Buses

Pittsburgh International Airport will soon add new electric shuttle buses and an additional electric vehicle charging station for travelers.

The Federal Aviation Administration recently selected PIT for its Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) grant program. The airport will receive over $1.4 million in funding towards the purchase of two electric shuttle buses and a Direct Current Fast Charging station for the Terminal Modernization Program.

The grant was ratified by the Allegheny County Airport Authority Board of Directors during PIT’s monthly board meeting Friday. PIT is working with the FAA to finalize plans for the electric buses.

“Sustainability is a key driver for PIT, and I’d like to thank our federal partners for recognizing the opportunities at airports to reduce our industry’s carbon footprint,” said Vince Gastgeb, Senior Vice President, Corporate & Government Relations.

The new electric shuttles will reduce carbon emissions while adding capacity to the shuttle bus fleet that transports travelers between the parking lots and the Landside Terminal.

The new rapid charging station, which is expected to open along with the new terminal, will add to PIT’s current 15 charging stations available for travelers with electric vehicles; five are located in the Short-Term parking garage and 10 in the Long-Term parking lot.

It is the first non-core aviation federal funding received by PIT for sustainability efforts and represents another step toward achieving PIT’s sustainability goals.

Those efforts were launched by the unveiling of its first-in-the-world microgrid that became fully operational in July 2021. Featuring nearly 10,000 solar panels, PIT’s microgrid is estimated to have saved over $1 million in utility costs and reduced carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 6.5 million pounds regionally in 2022.

In addition to its microgrid, PIT’s sustainability efforts include its thriving apiaries, which generate approximately 3,000 pounds of honey each year, and its goal of achieving Silver LEED certification of its new terminal and Multi-Modal Complex scheduled to open in 2025.