The California Air Resources Board, or CARB, is a 16-member panel (mostly appointed by the governor) that oversees air pollution control efforts in California. In December, the board approved a first-of-its-kind regulation in the US, establishing a statewide goal for public transit agencies to gradually transition to 100% zero-emission bus fleets by 2040.
“A zero-emission public bus fleet means cleaner air for all of us. It drastically reduces tailpipe pollution from buses in low-income communities and provides multiple benefits, especially for transit-dependent riders,” said Mary D. Nichols, Chair of CARB. “Putting more zero-emission buses on our roads will also reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gases, while delivering cost savings for transit agencies in the long run.”
The “Innovative Clean Transit” regulation is part of a statewide effort to reduce emissions from the transportation sector, which accounts for 40% of climate-altering greenhouse gas emissions and 80% to 90% of smog-forming pollutants. Transitioning to zero-emission technologies is essential to meeting climate and air quality targets.
Full implementation of the regulation is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 19 million metric tons from 2020 to 2050 – the equivalent of removing 4 million cars from the road. It will also reduce harmful tailpipe emissions (nitrogen oxides and particulate matter) by about 7,000 tons and 40 tons, respectively, over the same 30-year period.
The state's 200 public transit agencies play a critical role in transitioning vehicle fleets from fossil-fuel-powered technologies to zero-emission alternatives. Eight of the state's ten largest transit agencies are already operating zero-emission buses, including battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
The deployment of zero-emission buses is expected to accelerate rapidly in the coming years – from 153 buses currently to 1,000 by 2020, based on the number of buses already ordered or planned for purchase by transit agencies. In total, public transit agencies operate approximately 12,000 buses statewide.
To ensure a successful transition by 2040, each transit agency will submit a rollout plan under the regulation, demonstrating how it plans to purchase clean buses, build the necessary infrastructure, and train the required workforce. These deployment plans are scheduled for 2020 for large transit agencies and 2023 for smaller ones.
Agencies will follow a phased schedule from 2023 to 2029, by which point 100% of all annual new bus purchases will be zero-emission.
Via CicloVivo
This article was written by CicloVivo. The translation is powered by AI.
