On July 27, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) Board of Directors unanimously adopted a motion endorsing a comprehensive plan to transition the agency to a 100 percent zero emission bus fleet by 2030.

The plan is contingent upon two primary factors: continuous advancements in electric bus technology – which includes an increase in range, reduction of bus weight, reduction of charging times and extension of battery life cycles – as well as a drop in price as the technology develops. Metro is the largest U.S. transportation agency to endorse such a goal.

The purchase included 35, 60-foot articulated buses similar to the one pictured above.
(photo courtesy of Metro)

In a first step, Metro awarded two contracts totaling approximately $108 million for the manufacture and delivery of six 40-foot zero emission buses and 35, 60-foot zero emission articulated buses. In March, the agency awarded a contract for five 60-foot electric articulated buses.

“We’re making bold investments in new technology because Metro is serious about making our air cleaner and communities healthier,” said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, chair of the Metro board. “This purchase of 100 electric buses is a down payment on a more sustainable future and a big step toward our goal of having a fully electric bus fleet by 2030.”

Since 1993, the Metro Board has committed to buying alternative energy buses and retired its last diesel bus in 2011. Metro currently operates a fleet of 100 percent compressed natural gas (CNG) buses but in 2016, the board directed Metro staff to create and implement a plan that would move the agency to electric buses on the Metro Orange Line by 2020, with the Silver Line to follow.

“As we continue our transportation revolution, we must continue to make sustainable practices the norm,” said Metro CEO Phillip A. Washington. “We hope our move toward a zero emission fleet will inspire other transit agencies across the nation to consider this as a possibility and investigate how they can transition toward greener fleets for the benefit of patrons, as well as the cities and towns they serve.”

The CNG purchase does not contradict Metro’s move toward a 100 percent zero emission fleet. Rather, it is part of Metro’s bus fleet replacement plans for fiscal years 2018 to 2022, which dictate minimum retirement eligibility age and mileage of Metro buses and confirm Metro’s commitment to lowering the average age of its fleet to ensure that passengers experience travel that is safe, reliable and comfortable.

“I want future generations to live in a Los Angeles where people have safe and convenient connections to transportation options that don’t cause traffic gridlock and doesn’t poison our air,” said Metro Board and Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Bonin, the motion’s author along with Garcetti and board members Ara Najarian and L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn. “Electric buses are a game-changer because they help move more people to where they need to go, without adding harmful fossil fuel pollution to our air.”