Alex Padilla U.S. Senator for California

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Dianne Feinstein (both D-Calif.) announced that 17 local governments and transit agencies will receive over $236 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to aid the transition to zero-emission buses. This funding comes from DOT’s Buses and Bus Facilities Program and Low or No Emission Vehicle (Low-No) Program, helping transit agencies purchase and lease new cleaner vehicles and renovate and construct the infrastructure needed for zero-emission transit vehicles.

Padilla and Feinstein have made supporting the transition to zero-emission buses a priority. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that Padilla and Feinstein voted to pass last year provided $5.6 billion in new Low-No emission funding and $5.1 billion in new funding for Buses and Bus Facilities formula and competitive grants over five years. The recently passed Inflation Reduction Act would also provide $1 billion for clean heavy-duty vehicles, including transit and school buses, and a new tax credit of up to $40,000 for commercial vehicles, for which transit agencies and school districts are eligible.

“Transitioning to zero-emission buses is a major step we can and should be taking to combat climate change and improve the air quality in our communities,” said Senator Padilla. “Many cities and transit agencies across California are already developing and implementing projects to move to zero-emission buses—this funding will help those efforts charge forward. It is important we continue to invest not only in cleaner vehicles, but also in the infrastructure needed to support them. That’s why I will continue to advocate for more funding to transition to buses that are better for our environment and public health.”

“To successfully confront climate change, we must make significant investments in low- and no-emission vehicles. I’m pleased that California has received more than $230 million in grants from the Department of Transportation to help build out our state’s fleet of low- and no- emission public transit vehicles. This funding will go a long way toward helping our state reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector,” said Senator Feinstein.

Some of the grants coming to California transit agencies include:

• $104,160,000 million for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Zero-Emission Bus and Infrastructure Deployment Project.
  
  
• $17,367,042 million for the City of Fresno’s Zero-Emission Transition Project.
  
  
• $15,588,800 million for the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority’s Zero-Emission Bus Transition Project.
  
  
• $12,117,144 for the Gold Coast Transit District’s Hydrogen Fuel Transition Project in Ventura County.
  
  
• $12,016,400 for the City of Fairfield’s FAST Bus Fleet Electrification Project.
  
  
• $11,617,236 for the City of Roseville’s Zero-Emission Commuter Bus and Cutaway Fleet Transition Project.
  
  
• $9,342,502 for Omnitrans’ Zero-Emission Buses, Fueling, and Workforce Development Project in the San Bernardino Valley.
  
  

A full list of California transit agencies receiving grants is available here.

Under the California Air Resources Board’s Innovative Clean Transit Regulation, all new bus purchases by California transit agencies and local governments must be zero-emission buses beginning in 2029, with a goal for full transition by 2040.

The federal Buses and Bus Facilities Program assists in the financing of buses and bus facilities capital projects, including replacing, rehabilitating, purchasing, or leasing buses, bus-related facilities, or related equipment.  The federal Low-No Program supports the transition of the nation’s transit fleet to the lowest polluting and most energy efficient transit vehicles. The Low-No Program provides funding to state and local governmental authorities for the purchase or lease of zero-emission and low-emission transit buses, including the acquisition, construction, and leasing of required supporting facilities.

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