The Worcester (Mass.) Regional Transit Authority (WRTA) was recently awarded a $4.4 million Federal Transit Authority Clean Fuels grant to purchase buses from Proterra Inc., provider of zero-emission commercial transit solutions.

The transit authority will use the grant money to replace three of its 12 old diesel buses with Proterra’s zero-emission all-electric transit buses.

The grant award, which was announced last week by Rep. James P. McGovern (D-MA), Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) and Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA), will also pay for the installation of a Proterra on-route Charge station at the WRTA’s Union Station transfer center and a shop charger at the new maintenance and operations facility.

The WRTA estimates that replacing these three buses will eliminate 53 tons of harmful emissions and reduce petroleum consumption by more than 23,000 gallons per year, while reducing operating costs by more nearly $500,000.

Proterra’s EcoRide BE35 battery-electric buses recharge in less than 10 minutes, ready to serve the community with clean electric powered bus service. The 35-foot long buses are made of lightweight composite materials and are powered with state of the art battery technology. As a result, the buses have zero emissions, run virtually silent and are 500 percent more fuel efficient than diesel buses.

Other cities anticipated to roll-out Proterra buses in the next six months include Stockton, Calif.; San Antonio, Texas; Tallahassee, Fla.; and Seneca, S.C.