The Los Angeles City Council set a goal Wednesday of transitioning the city to a 100 percent zero-emission municipal bus fleet by 2030, matching the goal already set by Metro for its buses countywide.
The city operates a fleet primarily powered by natural gas. The new electric goal puts it in alignment with Mayor Eric Garcetti’s recent pledge — included in the C40 Fossil-Fuel-Free Streets Declaration he signed in Paris — for the city to purchase only zero-emission buses by 2025.
The City Council motion was approved on a 10-0 vote. It was also amended to direct the city Department of Transportation to explore the feasibility of moving up the zero-emission deadline to 2025, provided the agendy can work with the city attorney to back out of contracts requiring it to purchase some CNG buses in the future.
“I’m proud to have worked with Council member (Mike) Bonin to establish another important clean-air policy,” said Councilman Jose Huizar, who introduced the electric bus motion with Bonin.
“Shifting the 350 transit buses that are in the city’s fleet to zero- emission technology by 2030 means we start today with implementation plans: procuring buses, replacing fossil fuels with renewables and installing electric charging infrastructure. To respond to the dangers of smog and the climate crisis, the city of Los Angeles must use the cleanest technologies available and make the shift as quickly as possible,” he said.
The council’s vote marks the third largest zero-emissions goal in the nation behind L.A. Metro and Seattle’s King County Metro.
Garcetti in October signed the pledge for the city to purchase only zero- emission buses by 2025 when he was in Paris at a meeting of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, a coalition of more than 90 of the world’s megacities. A dozen other large cities, including Paris, Mexico City and Seattle, also signed the pledge.
The Metro Board of Directors in July set its goal of a zero-emission fleet by 2030.
Bonin credited the Los Angeles County Electric Bus Coalition for supporting the motion and helping promote electric buses all around Southern California.
“I want future generations to live in a Los Angeles where people have safe and convenient connections to transportation options that don’t cause traffic gridlock and doesn’t poison our air,” said Bonin, who chairs the City Council’s Transportation Committee and also sits on the Metro Board of Directors.
“Electric buses are a game-changer because they help move more people to where they need to go, without adding harmful fossil fuel pollution to the air we breathe. I am very proud to work with the Los Angeles County Electric Bus Coalition and my colleagues on the City Council and Metro Board to show that a path to a cleaner future starts here in Los Angeles.”
