During the past few years, many cities and states have committed to full adoption of their transit bus fleets to zero-emission vehicles. While the implementation dates vary, most are aiming to have the transition completed by 2040.
Since transit buses typically have pre-defined routs and access to recharging infrastructure, they are good candidates for adoption. It also helps that this segment is not-for-profit, and a short-term payback is not required. The significant barriers to adoption appear to have been overcome.
Here are some prime examples of zero-emission mandates.
- In California, CARB has established a mandate requiring all transit buses to be zero-emission compliant by 2040.
- The Los Angeles Department of Transportation plans to have an all-electric bus fleet by 2028. They recently ordered 155 electric buses from BYD and Proterra to be delivered during the next two years. Other Los Angeles County transit agencies have committed to convert their entire bus fleets to zero-emission by 2030. This includes the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which today has 2,200 buses.
- San Francisco plans to have a zero-emission bus fleet by 2035 and plans to purchase only zero-emission buses starting in 2025.
- In Seattle, King County Metro plans to move to 100% zero-emission buses no later than 2040. King County currently has 1,400 buses in its fleet.
- New York has over 5,000 buses which is the largest transit fleet in the country. The City plans to convert the entire fleet by 2040.
- The Chicago city council approved the transition to a 100% zero-emission bus fleet by 2040.
Whether or not the various cities and states will achieve these dates is uncertain but the trend toward electrification in the transit bus segment appears to be underway. PSR
Chris Fisher is Senior Commercial Vehicle Analyst at Power Systems Research
