The Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) has introduced five battery electric buses and ten fuel cell electric buses into its Bay Area fleet of zero-emission buses. Together with existing vehicles, AC Transit now has a fleet of 27 battery electric buses and fuel cell electric buses servicing the communities of West Oakland and Richmond, which were selected by CARB as Community Air Protection Program (AB 617) communities.
“AC Transit is a pioneer in the adoption of zero-emission bus technology dating back nearly 20 years,” says General Manager Michael Hursh. “Our fleet will soon generate unprecedented data: the first Bay Area transit agency to conduct a true side-by-side comparison of zero‑emission propulsion technologies.”
This zero-emission bus fleet was made possible by two grants awarded to AC Transit from two California Climate Investments programs: the Community Air Protection program, which provided a $2.7 million award, and the Low Carbon Transportation Investments program, which provided $8.5 million as part of the Fuel Cell Electric Bus Commercialization Consortium Project.
Chief Operating Officer Salvador Llamas knows just how impressive these vehicles are: “Our zero-emission buses have driven over 2.8 million miles. One of the original fuel cell power plants logged more than 30,000 hours of operation.”
AC Transit’s investment in zero-emission technology led its Board of Directors to approve a Clean Corridors Plan, which has a primary goal of cleaning the air while eradicating the GHG emissions giving rise to climate change.
Worker showing the components of the electric bus