Meeting_Body
REVISED
REGULAR BOARD MEETING
APRIL 25, 2024
Preamble
Motion by:
DIRECTORS YAROSLAVSKY, BASS, KREKORIAN, DUPONT-WALKER, SOLIS
Related to Item 31: Zero-Emission Bus Program Update
As transportation planner, designer, builder, and operator for the country's most populous county, Metro has an important role in the fight against climate change and in meeting global, state and local greenhouse gas reduction targets. A major part of Metro's role in fighting climate change is its Zero Emission Bus program.
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) proposed the Innovative Clean Transit (ICT) regulation in 2018 that required all transit agencies in the state to transition to all Zero Emission fleets by 2040.
In response, LA Metro has created a comprehensive Zero Emission Bus Program Master Plan which outlines the path to a complete transition to zero emission buses by 2030. The Board took action to endorse this aggressive goal, recognizing the need to act urgently against the climate crisis, improve air quality locally, and leverage Metro to advance the Zero Emissions Bus industry nationwide.
The Master Plan, updated in May 2023, builds off of the Metro CARB Innovative Clean Transit rollout plan, which evaluates service schedules, power needs, proposed technological advancements, bus production, and market conditions to determine the best path to a full fleet transition of Metro's fixed-route fleet by 2030.
According to Metro, and despite the significant progress made to date, staff is of the opinion that the Zero Emission Bus industry is evolving slower than previously anticipated and not mature enough to promote full fleet transition by the 2030 goal, particularly due to Zero Emission Bus costs, performance, and utility infrastructure.
Program challenges identified by Metro include costs, performance, grid capacity, supply chain and utilities' lead times, and market availability. As a result, according to Metro, shifting the program implementatio...
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