Since FIFA announced in February that nine 2026 World Cup games will be held at AT&T stadium in Arlington, transportation officials have been rushing to make preparations in a city known for its lack of public transit.
Now they want to bring a fleet of electric buses for transit during the games. It's part of a larger public transportation strategy that also includes a $17 million "bus bridge" plan.
The Regional Transportation Council voted Thursday to apply for funding through the Federal Transit Administration's 2024 Low or No Emissions and Bus/Bus Facilities Competitive Grant Program.
If approved, the grant would fund 59 electric buses. Fifty of them would be used during the games. Another nine would go to Trinity Metro for service in the rest of Tarrant County.
“We are on a tight timeline to actually take delivery of the buses in advance of the 2026 World Cup games," Shannon Stevenson, program lead with North Central Texas Council of Governments, said.
Stevenson said the NCTCOG is asking for around $55 million to purchase the buses. The fleet would include 20 larger buses about 40-45 feet long, and 30 smaller buses, "or what we would call the light duty or the cutaway vehicles," Stevenson said.
NCTCOG's transportation director Michael Morris said that after the FIFA games, the buses could be loaned out for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Then, the buses would be shipped back to North Texas for local use.
Morris added that the program would fit into FIFA's climate strategy that includes a goal to reduce its carbon emissions by 50%.
"So submitting it, if we win or lose, shows FIFA that we're very much in the spirit of what it is they're trying to do," Morris said.
Pablo Arauz Peña is KERA’s growth and infrastructure reporter. Got a tip? Email Pablo at parauzpena@kera.org. You can follow him on X @pabloaarauz.
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