The santa cruz metropolitan transit district (metro) is pooling funding from its FFY22 FFY23 and FFY24 section 5339(a) formula allocations along with a separate FFY23 section 5339(b) bus and bus…

The Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (METRO) was awarded a $2,140,886 Formula Grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Section 5339 Buses and Bus Facilities Program. The funding will be used to replace one 40-foot diesel bus with a 60-foot fuel cell electric bus (FCEB) as part of METRO's plan to convert 100% of its fleet to zero-emission buses by 2037. The project will also support the construction of a mobile hydrogen fueling station and facility upgrades to accommodate the new FCEB. Key expected outcomes include reduced energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and particulate matter emissions, as well as increased transit capacity and service reliability for METRO's primarily low-income ridership.

Activities

Metro is purchasing 53 fuel cell electric buses (fcebs) from new flyer of america that are funded from a variety of federal state and local funding sources. Metro was awarded $20381950 from the FFY23 5339B BBF program to replace four (4) 2002 diesel-fueled 60-foot buses four (4) 1998 diesel-fueled 40-foot buses and four (4) 2003 CNG 40-foot buses with eight (8) 60-foot and four (4) 40-foot fcebs. Funding from that grant will also support the construction of a mobile hydrogen fueling station providing facility upgrades to accommodate the new buses as well as maintenance training and workforce development. Metro is now pooling its appropriated FFY 2022 2023 and 2024 5339A formula funding to replace one (1) additional 40-foot diesel coach with a 60-foot fceb. The project is a vital piece of metros plan to convert 100% of its fleet to 100% zero-emissions buses (zebs) by 2037 and meet the state of californias clean energy mandates.

Expected outcomes

Metro will retire one 40-foot diesel bus that has exceeded its useful life benchmark (ULB) and purchase one 60-foot fuel cell electric bus using its FFY22 23 and 24 5339A formula grants. The diesel bus operates approximately 30000 miles and consumes approximately 10000 gallons of diesel fuel annually. Deploying a state-of-the-art fceb in its place will reduce energy consumption and harmful emissions including greenhouse gases and particulates.reduce energy consumption: the ZEB/fceb that metro is purchasing to replace the diesel bus will consume less energy per mile than buses than the diesel bus. Even when considering well-to-wheel energy requirements hydrogen fuel cell buses are a more efficient transit solution than diesel or CNG buses. Reduce harmful emissions: removing the older diesel bus from service will reduce tailpipe carbon emissions by over 1000 metric tons per annum and will reduce tailpipe particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions on the order of 10000G (grams) which has a considerable health impact on the local community. This reduction of direct carbon and harmful emissions results in an estimated social cost savings of ~$15000 per year calculated in accordance with executive order 13990.reduce direct carbon emissions: when comparing modern diesel buses of the same length as metros current buses to fcebs direct carbon emissions would decrease by over 50 metric tons annually. In addition compared to fossil fuel buses fcebs will reduce production of harmful emissions including particulate matter under 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5) by over 1000G annually. This reduction in direct carbon and harmful emissions results in a social cost savings of nearly $20000 annually in accordance with executive order 13990.in addition the proposed project will expand transit service by replacing the older 40-foot coach with a longer 60-foot articulated bus that has increased capacity to serve metro high-frequency high ridership corridors serving US highway 1 and the university of california santa cruz (ucsc). The number of seats on the replacement bus is approximately 50% greater in capacity than the existing bus metro will retire. Metro expects a corresponding increase in ridership will follow due to the available increased capacity. Increased ridership will reduce VMT and derived GHG emissions from displaced private vehicle trips while serving this primarily low-income population. Key attributes of fcebs include: range of up to 300 miles between refueling; can be refueled in less than 10 minutes; compact depot gas refueling eliminating the need for roadside charging infrastructure and proven durability with fuel cell lifetime of more than 30000 hours.

Intended beneficiaries

The proposed project will contribute toward metros goal of converting 100% of its fleet to zebs by 2037 and by converting all buses serving the US HWY 1 corridor between watsonville and santa cruz to ZEB by 2027. The watsonville UZA is a historically disadvantaged community (HDC). Deploying zebs in hdcs and on routes serving ucsc will help resolve overcrowding pass-BYS and stranded passengers. The investment will help transform transit in the monterey BAY area eliminating significant greenhouse gas emissions as noted in the expected outcomes section above over the useful life of the project and increasing equity by providing clean transit services within an HDC creating good-paying jobs and increasing transportation options for low-income and minority communities.