In what will be the largest acquisition of hydrogen fuel cell electric buses in the United States, the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District has approved purchase of 57 New Flyer HFC buses. METRO expects to begin taking delivery of the new buses in late 2024.
The order includes forty-eight 40-foot buses and nine 60-foot articulated buses. Most will be deployed in the Watsonville service area of Santa Cruz. Once all deliveries are made and the current fleet of internal combustion buses have been replaced, the entire METRO area will be serviced by zero-emissions vehicles. Most of the current buses being replaced are compress natural gas (CNG)-powered and diesel-powered units that are aging out of service. A further 10 percent of the current fleet is already zero-emissions.
To fuel the New Flyer hydrogen fuel cell buses, METRO is constructing a hydrogen fueling station with potential to add more capacity as other local partner agencies also switch to HFC vehicles.
The FCEB procurement is made possible, in part, through $20.4 million in grant funding from the Federal Transit Administration’s FY23 Bus and Bus Facilities program and a $38.6-million award from the California State Transportation Agency’s Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP). METRO has also applied for $27 million from the California Air Resources Board’s Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust, which is administered by the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District.
Aaron is an automotive journalist living in Wyoming, USA. His background includes technology, mechanics, commercial vehicles, and new vehicle evaluations. Aaron is a member of several automotive media groups and writes for many well-known publications.