The San Joaquin Valley Transit Electrification Project has deployed 15 zero-emission battery electric transit buses, and 15 charging stations, in disadvantaged communities throughout the San Joaquin Valley.
The electric transit buses will be operated by five transit agencies, including two in Fresno (California State University, Fresno, and Fresno County Rural Transit Agency), one in Stockton (San Joaquin Regional Transit District), one in Modesto (City of Modesto Transit Services) and one in Visalia (City of Visalia Transit Division). The project will serve as a regional model for other areas of California.
The project benefits communities throughout this vast, 250-mile long air basin in a multitude of ways, by providing direct economic, environmental, and public health benefits. This investment supports the market for larger zero-emission vehicles, cuts GHGs, and delivers cleaner air where it is most needed: disadvantaged communities throughout the San Joaquin Valley.
While air quality in the San Joaquin Valley has steadily improved over the past 15 —thanks to rules and plans designed to curb air pollution—the Valley remains one of the most polluted regions in the nation along with Southern California, still falling short of federal health-based standards for ozone and fine particles, and soot.
Emissions from mobile sources are one of the significant contributors to the air quality challenge facing the Valley. This project tackles that problem head-on by providing buses that have no tailpipe emissions at all. The new buses will reduce GHG emissions, and harmful particle pollutants. The project is expected to reduce nearly 1,700 MTCO2e per year.
The total $22 million project cost includes $13.4 million from Cap-and-Trade auction proceeds and $8.7 million in matching funds. Proterra will manufacture the buses and charging infrastructure in Southern California.