
Everywhere seems to be trying to switch to electric, right? Well, this Wyoming county and town just learned it might not be worth it, as they have been forced to rely on diesel after all of their electric buses failed.
Welcome to Teton County, Wyoming, the home of the town of Jackson.
According to Cowboy State Daily, the county purchased eight electric buses thanks to the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, which appropriated more than $5.5 billion to push “going green” in public transportation.
But all eight buses have now officially failed, leaving the county to fall back on its previously used diesel fleet.
Not even 3 year old "EV" bus fleet bought from a now bankrupt @Proterra_Inc totally out of service! What a waste Wyoming!https://t.co/hrKPVFpfE6
— D MaC (@McC_711) September 27, 2023
In fact, the buses won’t even run anymore. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the company that previously supplied and serviced them has gone bankrupt after three years of existence.
At first, the company Proterra seemed to be a good thing for the industry. Democrat President Joe Biden even toured the plant, noting that they made him “look good.”
But in August, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection – officially leaving Teton County’s EV buses in despair.
So, of course, the county and town have been forced to return to using their fleet of 31 diesel buses for now.
What a waste of government money…
But wait, it gets better (or worse, depending on how you look at it).
As Jackson resident and former Teton County Commission member Paul Vogelheim told the outlet, some residents have long pushed for road conditions to be upgraded. But that’s not what happened.
Apparently, most of Jackson’s residents voted instead to let the roads “remain inconvenient in hopes that people would ride more bikes and take public transit.” And so, the town bought EV buses.
Yes, you read that correctly. Residents actually wanted to roads to remain “inconvenient” for drivers.
Did I mention that this county ranks first in per-household wealth in the nation? On average, Teton County residents make $312,442 annually (adjusted gross income). Naturally, they are also all liberals and voted for Biden in 2020 by a margin of 67.8 percent to 29.9 percent.
No wonder they want EV buses despite the sub-zero winters and mountainous terrain… Oh, and they plan on buying more next year. (insert palm to forehead emoji)