100% zero emission buses in CA

[windtrader]

Stumbled across this quote about the directive of CARB.

The California Air Resources Board has mandated that all transit fleets be zero-emission by 2040. The options, right now, are either electric or hydrogen buses.

https://www.dailyrepublic.com/all-dr-news/solano-news/fairfield/fairfield-receives-1-2m-for-electric-buses

Here is an article showing the ones being auctioned and the new electric buses
[/size]http://www.soltransride.com/2017/07/soltrans-unveils-buses-of-the-future/

[chessie4905]

Yeah, but part of that grant money is coming out of my pocket.😡

[HB of CJ]

100% electric might work.  Battery teck might come a long way by 2040.

[lvmci]

Honda gave two full hydrogen, I think 4 door Fits, to the city of Las Vegas  for beta testing, including the filling station. I was there for the CNG filling station on the same lot, lvmci...

[chessie4905]

2040?? I'll be worm food before that.😴

[Dave5Cs]

the federal agency noted when announcing that $264 million is being distributed for 139 projects in 52 states and territories as part of the Buses and Bus Facilities Infrastructure Investment Program.

It is not just in California.
It always cracks me up when people say I have to pay for that with my taxes. Well that is kind of how the Government works? My concern is more that the government always seems to pay way to much for things, why? because there is only a portion of any moneys' that actually goes to the said project and the rest goes in their side line programs they can't get funding for and their pockets or lobbyists pockets.
2 Buses on the first grant of 1.2mil.? divide that by two. Buses are not that expensive.

[chessie4905]

Exactly! Couple of years ago, Pa. fuel taxes were raised to almost highest in the nation to repair the thousands of deficient bridges and road rebuilding. Although I'm not happy about the cost of fuel here, they are making a dent in the problem. But, as usual, a few million was siphoned off to replace a dam at a small Collier Lake because the fish comission didn't have the money to do it themselves. WTF?? What does fishing have to do with highway repairs. And of course as the years go by, the annual budgets will siphon more money from this largess for more unrelated pet projects.

[windtrader]

Not sure in this specific case but there are other items included in these grants such as charging stations and other non-vehicle specific expenses needed to support the new technology. Maybe mechanic training etc. naturally, there is higher costs related to new technology.

[buswarrior]

The contracts always have training, spares, tools, warranty, tech support, etc.

Electric buses need a charger, so the existing fuel pump and tank doesn't carry over.

The bare vehicle cost is difficult to extract from the rest of these legitimate contract costs.

And transit buses are not cheap anymore, in relation to a charter coach.

Happy coaching!
Buswarrior

[Iceni John]

I wonder if CARB has specified the source of all the electricity needed to charge these electric buses?   There's really not much point in having a zero-emission vehicle if the electricity for it is produced by a coal-fired power station pouring pollutants into the atmosphere  -  all it does is move the pollution source from one place to another.   And after you factor in the ocean shipping to move the raw materials for the batteries (ships still emit vast amounts of crap due to their heavy fuel oil), and their actual extraction's environmental costs (e.g. burst dams in Brazil and environmental degradation in DRC and China), and the end-of-life costs of the batteries' toxic components, the overall picture isn't quite as rosy as most people think.

John

[Dave5Cs]

Don't forget the trucks it will take to move it on land as well as the coal mines and all the heat generated from all the politicians patting themselves on the back.

[Ed Hackenbruch]

I think that i will start a company building buses to run on Hydrogen.  I think that i will call it the Hindenburg Bus Company.  Anybody want to buy some stock in it? 

[Dave5Cs]

Ed put me down for 20 shares. I think it will be a wide spread and can do nothing more than go up.

[windtrader]

the goal is 100%  non-fossil energy generation by 2045.
https://www.npr.org/2018/09/10/646373423/california-sets-goal-of-100-percent-renewable-electric-power-by-2045

[Bus Lurker]

We all know how these goals turn out that the State of California puts in place.  We were supposed to have the "Bullet Train" built by now with 2.5 hour rides from LA to San Fran.  That's all been abandoned by the new governor after wasting billions of dollars in taxpayer's funds. 

Mike