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The Air Resources Board (ARB) would like to inform you about the
first Advanced Clean Transit Advisory Committee (Committee)
Meeting.  The meeting will include a wide range of stakeholders
such as technology providers, original equipment manufacturers,
transit agencies, and other interested parties to discuss the
current status of advanced technologies for reducing emissions
from transit buses.  The focus of the Committee will be to
discuss solutions and barriers to implementing zero and near-zero
emission technologies in existing transit fleets and how to
leverage continued advancements in accelerating the market for
advanced technologies in the heavy duty sector.

The first Committee meeting is tentatively scheduled for 10:00
a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Friday, January 29th, 2016 in Sacramento and
will be webcast.  All meetings will take comments from any
interested party.  Meeting materials, including agenda,
presentations, etc. will be posted on the Advanced Clean Transit
website at: http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/bus/bus.htm.  

Staff is seeking to identify Committee members with differing
perspectives to actively participate in the meetings.  Committee
members would be expected to attend meetings in person, prepare
materials for future meetings and review meeting summaries and
other documents.   If you are interested in being part of the
Committee and are able to contribute your time, please send a
brief outline with background information on how you could
contribute, your affiliation, and contact information to Ms.
Shirin Barfjani, Air Pollution Specialist, at
shirin.barfjani@arb.ca.gov no later than January 18th, 2016.
 
If you have any questions regarding the Committee, please contact
Yachun Chow, Manager, Zero Emission Truck and Bus Section, at
yachun.chow@arb.ca.gov or at (916) 322-7450.  

Background

Adopted in 2000, the Fleet Rule for Transit Agencies required
reductions in diesel particulate matter and oxides of nitrogen
emissions from urban buses and transit fleet vehicles, and
required zero emission bus purchases for transit agencies with
200 or more urban buses.  Transit agencies that chose to follow
the diesel path option were required to demonstrate zero-emission
buses, with 15 percent of new buses purchased to be zero-emission
beginning in 2008.  For alternative path transit agencies, the 15
percent zero-emission bus purchase requirement was to begin in
2010.  The rule was amended in 2006, to postpone the purchase
requirement to 2011 for diesel path
transit agencies, and 2012 for alternative path transit agencies,
and to include an advanced demonstration from the diesel path
transit agencies.  At the July 2009 Board meeting, through
Resolution 09-49, the Board directed the Executive Officer to
delay the zero-emission bus purchase requirement due to
technology readiness concerns, and to conduct a technology
assessment on the readiness of zero emission bus technologies
before reinstating purchase requirements.  In January 2010, ARB
issued an advisory (Mail-out #10-04) with the postponement of the
purchase requirement for zero-emission buses.

Staff recently presented the technology assessment results of
fuel cell electric vehicles, battery electric vehicles, hybrid
vehicles, natural gas vehicles, and low NOx engines to the Board
in November 2015 with the commercialization stage of each
technology highlighted.  Staff concluded that low-NOx engines
will become commercially available soon and that zero emission
buses are in the early commercialization phase and have similar
performance and reliability as conventional buses. Therefore,
staff is currently in the process of working with stakeholders to
develop an Advanced Clean Transit proposal that will incorporate
these advanced clean technologies while transitioning public
transportation to zero emission technologies.






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