FRESNO, CA (KMJ) – California is transitioning to an all-electric public bus fleet.
The state-wide goal is to change public transit buses to 100 percent zero-emission fleets by 2040.
The Innovative Clean Transit regulation aims to reduce emissions from the transportation sector, by more than 7,000 tons over a 30-year period.
The transportation sector accounts for 40 percent of gas emissions and up to 90 percent of smog pollutants.
It’s the equivalent of taking 4 million cars off the road.
Eight of the 10 largest transit agencies in the state are already operating zero-emission buses, including battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
Deployment of zero-emission buses is expected to accelerate rapidly in the coming years – from 153 buses today to 1,000 by 2020.
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) says reducing bus tailpipe pollution will have health benefits for riders, especially in low-income communities.
CARB says the deployment of zero-emission buses will bring employment opportunities including high-quality manufacturing jobs to communities across the state.
Transit agencies are expected to save $1.5 billion in maintenance, fuel and other costs by 2050 after the full buildout of infrastructure.
Altogether, public transit agencies operate about 12,000 buses statewide.
To meet the 2040 goal each agency will submit a rollout plan demonstrating how it plans to purchase clean buses, build out necessary infrastructure and train the required workforce.
The rollout plans are due in 2020 for large transit agencies and in 2023 for small agencies.
Click to listen to the report by KMJ’s Liz Kern:
