Transportation Commission to Consider Zero Emission Plan

City staff is recommending that the Transportation Advisory Commission support adoption of the Pasadena Zero Emission Rollout Plan that provides a roadmap that would transition the City’s public transit fleet to a zero emission bus (ZEB) fleet. 

“In December 2018, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) adopted the Innovative Clean Transit (ICT) rule that requires all public transit operators in California to transition to 100 percent ZEB fleets by 2040,” according to City staff report. 

For the City, the required transition milestones include a July 1 deadline to provide a “ZEB Rollout Plan.”

By 2026, 25% of new bus purchases must be zero emission buses. Three years later in 2029, all buses purchased must be ZEB, and in 2040 all buses must be zero emission buses.

The Rollout Plan identifies the proposed roadmap to transition the Pasadena transit fleet to a full deployment of a zero emission bus fleet by 2037. The plan starts the transition as early as calendar year 2023. 

The Rollout Plan has been prepared to meet the ZEB Rollout Plan requirements due to CARB by July 1. The Rollout Plan identifies the fleet replacement schedule to implement the ZEB transition, the ZEB technology that will be implemented, the infrastructure needed, a training plan for drivers and maintenance staff, and potential funding sources. 

“The transition to a ZEB fleet is a significant undertaking for a system the size of Pasadena Transit and Pasadena DialA-Ride, which currently has a fleet of 44 vehicles,” according to the report.

Given this, staff took a number of steps prior to 2018 to prepare for the zero emission bus transition, including participation in the Los Angeles Regional Electric Bus Working Group, a working group primarily made up of transit agencies and public utilities that have been meeting regularly to share information and exchange zero emission bus experiences. 

Attendance at numerous conferences, summits, and workshops focused specifically on zero emission technologies in the transit industry to address approaches that have been or will be implemented, lessons learned, ongoing research, and potential funding opportunities. 

Staff also met with various ZEB manufacturers, toured ZEB facilities, and demonstrations, and implemented day-long demonstrations of zero-emission buses. 

Technology and Estimated Cost The Rollout Plan evaluated Battery Electric Bus (BEB) and Fuel Cell Electric Bus (FCEB), which are the two ZEB technologies available. 

It is recommended that the City pursue a mixed fleet with a BEB Pasadena Dial-A-Ride fleet and a FCEB Pasadena Transit fleet in order to meet the operating needs of the Pasadena Transit and Pasadena Dial-A-Ride systems. 

During the development of the Rollout Plan various demonstrations were conducted to test the range of ZEB vehicles.

These vehicle demonstrations indicated that the BEB range could support a one for one vehicle replacement in the Pasadena Dial-ARide fleet. There currently is no BEB available that can meet the full range requirements needed for the Pasadena Transit fleet. A FCEB does not have this challenge. Based on the evaluation, it is anticipated that the Pasadena Transit fleet would require 15 additional BEB’s over the current 29 vehicle fleet due to the current range limitations (i.e., a 52% increase). 

Although the long-term recommended plan is to transition to a mixed fleet of FCEB and BEB, in order to advance the ZEB transition, a Pasadena Transit BEB fleet will be initially pursued while the FCEB infrastructure is developed. 

The cost to transition to the mixed ZEB fleet is estimated at $61,724,731 between 2022 and 2040. 

The net present value is $38,816,478, if vehicles were purchased today. 

Outreach Staff presented draft findings of the ZEB Rollout Plan to the following City commissions and committee to receive input on the draft Rollout Plan. 

A draft of the plan has already gone before the Municipal Services Committee. The final draft is expected to go the committee next month.  

The most notable modification made in response to comments received include the acceleration of the timeline to transition to a zero emission fleet and the recommended approach to a mixed fleet of FCEB and BEB’s. 

The initial timeline identified the ZEB transition beginning in 2027, following the anticipated construction of the Transit Operations and Maintenance Facility (TOMF). However, in order to start the ZEB transition sooner. 

Staff will return in the near future with a separate action seeking authorization to purchase the first ZEB for Pasadena Transit and the first ZEB for Pasadena Dial-A-Ride. 

The objective of these first buses would be to gain operational experience with the technologies to prepare for future vehicle replacements. In addition, the City of Pasadena Transit Fleet Replacement Plan included in the Rollout Plan was updated to incorporate an accelerated transition as funding becomes available. 

The commission meets at 4 p.m. on Dec. 8. To view the meeting, visit: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88221926283