As part of its ongoing effort to expand and improve an eco-friendly transportation system, OCTA has received grant funds from the Center for Transportation and the Environment and the South Coast Air Quality Management that will be used to purchase 10 hydrogen fuel cell electric buses from New Flyer Industries Inc. The buses are expected to be delivered by the early 2019.
Part of the $13.3 million grant will also be used to construct a hydrogen fueling station at OCTA’s Santa Ana Bus Base, which will serve as home base for the hydrogen buses.
Hydrogen fuel cell electric buses are powered by oxygen and hydrogen, which are combined to produce electricity, heat and water. The buses use fuel cells to convert chemical energy stored by hydrogen fuel into electricity. As the zero-emission fuel cell electric buses operate, they will emit only water, creating cleaner air and a healthier environment.
OCTA currently has one hydrogen fuel cell bus, which is part of a two-year demonstration project funded by the Federal Transit Administration under the National Fuel Cell Bus Program and is fueled at the University of California, Irvine. Find out more about OCTA’s first hydrogen fuel cell bus here.
In addition to the zero-emission bus, OCTA operates nearly 530 buses, all of which run on clean-burning natural gas. OCTA also strives to make Orange County greener by purchasing and preserving open spaces throughout the county through its freeway environmental mitigation program and providing funding to cities for projects that help protect water quality from transportation-generated pollution. These efforts are funded by Measure M, Orange County’s half-cent sales tax for transportation improvements.