By Chloe Trofatter Fifteen years ago, Michigan’s first electric hybrid bus was unveiled in Traverse City. Early editions of those buses proved unreliable. But with the return of the wave of electrification in 2021, has anything changed? State transit authorities are cautiously optimistic, but trust in technology remains a barrier to the incorporation of electric buses into fleets, according to Jean Ruestman, the administrator of the Office of Passenger Transportation in the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT). “There is risk in implementing new technology,” Ruestman said. “There is still fear regarding how batteries will operate in the cold weather and on rough roads found in our rural areas.”