Agricultural Worker Vanpools

California Air Resources Board (CARB)

What does it fund?

Affordable and reliable transportation for agricultural workers in disadvantaged and low-income communities in the San Joaquin Valley and other agricultural areas in California. The project uses clean technology vehicles to get agriculture workers to their job sites, and reduces the number of single-occupancy cars on the road, improving air quality.

CalVans deployed 154, 15-passenger hybrid conversion vans in the spring of 2019. Approximately 70 percent of the hybrid van fleet serves agricultural workers in the San Joaquin Valley, with remaining vans serving workers in the Coachella and Salinas Valleys, Santa Maria, and other disadvantaged and low-income agricultural areas statewide. To date, project vans have provided close to 17,000 passenger trips resulting in over 1,110,000 vehicle miles traveled.

The pilot project provided a critical test of hybrid-conversion technology. Gasoline powered vans were fitted with after-market hybrid conversion kits, which reduced tailpipe emissions by approximately 25 percent. Over time, however, CalVans determined that the hybrid conversion technology was not well suited for the ongoing performance demands and wear-and-tear associated with continuous off-road use. While the current hybrid fleet remains in service, planned expansion funding for the project was redirected to support other CARB clean mobility equity projects.

Demand for this transportation service in California’s disadvantaged and low-income agricultural communities remains high. Results from a 2019 funding analysis indicated that between 600 and 900 additional vans are needed to meet forecasted demand through 2022.

At present, no commercialized clean technology vehicles are capable of meeting the ongoing off-road performance demands, extended range requirements, and passenger capacity necessary for most agricultural vanpool applications. CARB will continue to track developments and consider future project funding should commercialized options become available.

In addition to agricultural vanpools, CalVans continues to provide hundreds of vanpools tailored to meet the needs of government employees, student populations and commuters working in a variety of California industries.

Who is eligible for funds?

The California Vanpool Authority (CalVans) was selected as the administrator in 2017 through a competitive solicitation process and continues to operate the project vans in coordination with its fleet of traditional gasoline vans.