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California to require all-electric buses by 2040
Investors - DECEMBER 17, 2018

California to require all-electric buses by 2040

by Andrea Zander

The California Air Resources Board unanimously passed a rule, Innovative Clean Transit regulation, that will phase out gas- and diesel-powered public transit buses in the coming decades. Transit agencies will be barred from purchasing any new gas-powered buses by 2029 and will require only zero-emission buses by 2040.

The sector, according to CARB, is responsible for 40 percent of climate-changing gas emissions and 80 percent to 90 percent of smog-forming pollutants in California.

The filing will take an estimated 14,000 gas-powered buses off the roads. According to an environmental impact statement, the plan would lower greenhouse gas emissions 86 percent by 2050 compared to a business-as-usual scenario, especially if electric charging stations are powered by renewable energy.

The target is for all 200 public transit agencies in California to be operating 100 percent zero-emission bus fleets by 2040.

With the Innovative Clean Transit regulation, CARB is looking at benefits that include cleaner air and quieter rides for people who regularly take public transportation. The plan will also allow transit agencies to save $1.5 billion in costs by 2050, once the infrastructure is fully established. In addition, the deployment of electric buses in California will result in new employment opportunities, including manufacturing jobs for the required vehicles.

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