Agenda Item #15.1
For Council Meeting of: June 6, 2023
CITY OF SANTA ROSA
CITY COUNCIL
TO: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
FROM: RACHEL EDE, DEPUTY DIRECTOR – TRANSIT TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT SUBJECT: ZERO EMISSION BUS ROLLOUT PLAN
AGENDA ACTION: RESOLUTION
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended by the Transportation and Public Works Department that the Council, by resolution, approve the CityBus Zero Emission Bus (ZEB) Rollout Plan.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Transit Division has developed the Zero-Emission Bus (ZEB) Rollout Plan to meet both the California Air Resources Board (CARB) mandated Innovative Clean Transit (ICT) regulation (13 CCR § 2023.1) and the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) amended requirement for agencies seeking federal grants. Santa Rosa CityBus’ Rollout Plan achieves a zero-emission fleet in 2037, ahead of the ICT’s 2040 target for all 41 vehicles (fixed route and cutaway paratransit vehicles).
BACKGROUND
Although the ZEB Rollout Plan was developed to meet CARB’s ICT regulation (13 CCR § 2023.1) and the FTA requirements, this plan has its roots in the vision set forth by the residents of Santa Rosa and work of City Council since 2005 with an initial resolution setting GHG emission reduction targets and subsequent climate action activities.
Through the ICT regulation which became effective October 1, 2019, CARB has mandated all California public transit agencies to transition bus fleets to zero-emission technologies by 2040. The ICT regulation requires agencies to adopt Zero-Emission Bus Rollout Plans as a means to work through the potential challenges associated with the transition to zero-emissions bus fleets. The ZEB Rollout Plan is a living document, and once approved by City Council and submitted to CARB, it will be updated as needed to reflect changing conditions and plans. As the regulations stipulates, the CityBus ZEB Rollout Plan includes the following sections addressing the following topics:
A) Transit Agency Information
B) Rollout Plan General Information
C) Technology Portfolio
D) Current Bus Fleet Composition and Future Bus Purchases E) Facilities and Infrastructure Modifications
F) Service in Disadvantaged Communities
G) Workforce Training
H) Potential Funding Sources
I) Start-up and Scale-up Challenges
At the federal level, the signing of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (Pub. L. 117-58) by President Biden on November 15, 2021 amended the statutory provisions for the 5339 Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Competitive Program and Low or No Emission Program to require that any applicant for projects related to zero-emission vehicles have a Zero-Emission Transition Plan. To meet this statutory requirement the CityBus Zero-Emissions Bus Rollout Plan includes a long-term fleet plan (Section D); resources needed to meet the cost of a transition to an all battery electric fleet (Sections D,E, and H); policy and legislative impacts (Sections A, B, and C); evaluation of existing and future facilities (Sections C and E); relationship with utility (Sections B, E and H); and impacts to workforce (Section G).
PRIOR CITY COUNCIL REVIEW
In 2005, Council adopted a resolution, Resolution No. 26341, establishing Citywide greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets in response to state goal setting. Since then, the City has adopted a Community Wide Climate Action Plan (CCAP) and a Municipal Climate Action Plan (MCAP).
On May 23, 2017, and June 5, 2018, the City Council, by Resolution Nos. 2017-077 and 2018-086, approved the applications for funds from the FTA’s 5339 program for battery-electric buses.
On April 2, 2019, a Council Study Session was presented by the Transit Division updating the Council on the progress on electrification of the fixed-route fleet.
On May 5, 2020, the City Council, by Resolution No. 2020-066 approved participation in the PG&E EV Fleet Program to develop Battery Electric Bus Charging Infrastructure.
On November 17, 2020, the City Council, by Resolution No. 2020-201 approved the purchase of the first four battery electric buses for the fixed route fleet.
On January 5, 2021, the City Council, by Resolution RES-2021-006 approved the use of the Design-Build method of procurement for certain infrastructure for the CityBus Electrical Vehicle Fleet Electrification Project.
On April 27, 2021, the City Council, by Resolution No. 2021-062 awarded the design-build contract to Cupertino Electric, Inc for the charging infrastructure for bus electrification project.
On August 8, 2022, the Climate Action Subcommittee heard a staff presentation and provide feedback on the Framework of the Zero-Emission Rollout Plan.
On August 23, 2022, the City Council, by Resolution No. RES-2022-184 approved the amendment of the contract with Proterra to include the purchase of batteries and extend the warranties for the four battery electric buses.
On August 23, 2022, the City Council, by Resolution No. RES-2022-183 approved the purchase of five Proterra battery electric buses using a state cooperative purchasing contract.
ANALYSIS
The Santa Rosa City Council has supported several actions to accelerate the transition of the CityBus’ fleet entirely to Battery Electric Buses (BEBs) ahead of ICT mandates. As discussed in this plan, Santa Rosa CityBus anticipates reaching full electrification of its 41 bus fleet (29 40’ fixed route buses, 1 Oakmont cutaway and 11 paratransit cutaways) by 2037, 3 years in advance of the ICT requirement.
All CityBus’ fixed-route services operate out of a single facility at 45 Stony Point Road in Santa Rosa. Paratransit operations and maintenance are based at the paratransit contractor’s facility in Santa Rosa at 77 W 3rd St., with oversight and monitoring by the City of Santa Rosa. CityBus will accommodate the storage, maintenance, and fueling of all 29 fixed route BEBs and the fueling of all 12 cutaways as early as 2035 and by 2040.
Santa Rosa’s paratransit service and the deviated-fixed route service (Oakmont) are currently operated by a contractor using cutaway vehicles. Currently the ICT regulations states that the requirement for purchase of ZEB cutaway vehicles will be specified on or after January 1, 2026, once cutaway models with federally required Bus Testing Reports are more widely available (described in section 2023(b)(8) of the regulation (13 CCR § 2023.1) as the “Altoona Test”). CityBus has included an electrification plan that includes all cutaway vehicles. CityBus will respond to further guidance on the requirements for cutaway vehicles and will re-evaluate the cutaway vehicle market prior to each cutaway purchase. As the cutaway vehicle market progresses, CityBus will look for opportunities to accelerate the adoption of electric cutaway vehicles and update the ZEB Rollout Plan accordingly.
Pursuing a BEB fleet in place of a diesel fixed-route fleet and gasoline cutaway fleet will require additional resources, both for the initial purchase of electric replacement vehicles and deployment of bus charging infrastructure as well as the ongoing replacement of higher-cost electric vehicles.
As discussed in this Plan, CityBus will pursue funding opportunities at the federal, state, and local levels to support the BEB transition and ensure that appropriate staff training and workforce development is provided to support an effective deployment of a ZEB bus fleet. This Rollout Plan provides estimated timelines based on information regarding bus and cutaway purchasing options, infrastructure upgrades, workforce training, and other developments and expenses that are available at the time of writing. The Transit Division anticipates that updates to the Rollout Plan will be needed following the completion of the City of Santa Rosa’s comprehensive Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Master Plan process that will aim to analyze EV policy implications, create a long-term roadmap to successfully integrate electric vehicles into the City fleet and evaluate charging infrastructure for the public and owned vehicles.
FISCAL IMPACT
Approval of this action does not have a fiscal impact on the General Fund.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
This action is exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under CEQA Section 15061(b)(3) and 15378 in that there is no possibility that the implementation of this action may have significant effects on the environment, and no further environmental review is required.
BOARD/COMMISSION/COMMITTEE REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Not applicable.
NOTIFICATION
Not applicable.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – City of Santa Rosa Zero Emission Bus Rollout Plan Resolution
PRESENTER
Yuri Koslen, Transit Planner
ZERO EMISSIONS BUS ROLLOUT PLAN
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