In December, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) passed the Innovative Clean Transit Rule, which requires transit agencies to transition to a 100 percent zero-emission bus fleet by 2040. OCTA is currently exploring both hydrogen fuel-cell and battery-electric buses, with hydrogen fuel-cell bus technology testing now underway.
In 2016, OCTA received a grant from CARB to build a hydrogen fueling station and purchase 10 hydrogen fuel-cell buses.
By the end of March, OCTA anticipates receiving all the buses and completing the fueling station at the Santa Ana Bus Base. The station has the capacity to fuel 40 to 50 buses and can scale up to 100.
Moving forward, OCTA staff will monitor and review the performance of the buses while continuing to test other zero-emission technologies.