Metro - File #: 2023-0295

• File #: 2023-0295
• Type: Program
• Status: Withdrawn
• File created: 4/26/2023
• In control: Board of Directors - Regular Board Meeting
• On agenda: 5/25/2023
• Final action: 5/25/2023
• Title: RECEIVE AND FILE the Progress Report on the Zero Emission Bus (ZEB) Program, including the shift in the program goal of fully transitioning to a zero-emission bus fleet from 2030 to no later than 2035, with a commitment to no longer procure Clean Natural Gas (CNG) buses to accommodate the new program goal.
• Sponsors: Board of Directors - Regular Board Meeting
• Indexes: American Public Transportation Association, Americans With Disabilities Act, Ara Najarian, Board approved a Motion, Bus rapid transit, Cleaning, Compressed Natural Gas - Powered Buses, Construction, Fuel cells, Fuels, Grant Aid, Heating, cooling and ventilation equipment, Hilda Solis, International Association of Public Transport, Janice Hahn, Maintainability, Maintenance, Metro Busway G Line, Metro Divisions, Mitigation, Motion / Motion Response, Natural gas, Partnerships, Pedestrians, Procurement, Program, Purchasing, Request For Proposal, Rolling stock, Safety, State Of Good Repair, Strategic planning, Suppliers, System safety, Transit boards, Transmissions, Zero Emission Bus (ZEB) Master Plan, Zero Emissions
• Related files: 2023-0207

Date	Action By	Action	Result
5/25/2023	Board of Directors - Regular Board Meeting
5/18/2023	Operations, Safety, and Customer Experience Committee

Meeting_Body
REVISED
OPERATIONS, SAFETY, AND CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE COMMITTEE
MAY 18, 2023

Subject
SUBJECT: ZERO-EMISSION BUS PROGRAM UPDATE

Action
ACTION: RECEIVE AND FILE

Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
RECEIVE AND FILE the Progress Report on the Zero Emission Bus (ZEB) Program, including the shift in the program goal of fully transitioning to a zero-emission bus fleet from 2030 to no later than 2035, with a commitment to no longer procure Clean Natural Gas (CNG) buses to accommodate the new program goal.


Issue
ISSUE

In 2018, The California Air Resources Board's (CARB) Innovative Clean Transit (ICT) regulation mandated that all transit agencies in the state operate all-zero emission fleets by 2040.

In July 2017, Metro's Board of Directors approved Motion #50 (File 2017-0524) which endorsed a ZEB Strategic Plan (SP) to transition the entire bus fleet to zero-emission by 2030, contingent on envisioned cost and performance equivalence with CNG buses as a result of continued advancements in battery-electric bus (BEB) technology. However, the availability and capacity of sufficient power at each of Metro's bus divisions have been identified as a constraint.

Meanwhile, BEBs' cost and technical parity with CNG buses have not materialized.
Given the current status of the ZEB industry, staff finds that these program challenges (i.e., costs, performance, electrical grid capacity, supply chain and utilities' lead times, and market availability) are exacerbated by trying to achieve a full transition by the 2030 target date.

Background
BACKGROUND

In July 2017, the Metro Board approved Motion #50 (File 2017-0524) by Directors Bonin, Garcetti, Najarian, Hahn, and Solis that endorsed a plan to transition to a ZEB fleet by 2030 (Attachment A). The endorsement was contingent based on two primary factors: continuous advancements in electric bus technology and a drop in prices as the technology develops. This provision stipulates that the ZEB conversion time...