66 per cent growth for US electric bus market in 2022, according to CALSTART

66 per cent growth for US electric bus market in 2022, according to CALSTART

The data is reported on CALSTART Zeroing in on ZEBs annual report, that provides an updated index of adopted ZEBs that have been funded, ordered, and/or delivered within the United States and Canada according to data collected through September 2022.

California, a state where all new sales of transit buses must be zero-emission by 2030, in compliance with the Innovative Clean Transit (ICT) regulation, has the most ZEBs in the country with 1,977 vehicles.

The West Coast overall, including California, Oregon, and Washington, accounts for 41% of ZEBs nationwide. New York follows behind California with 489 total buses.

CALSTART on zero emission bus market in North America

CALSTART Zeroing in on ZEBs annual report is funded by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB’s) Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP).

“When President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law in November of 2021, historic levels of funding were made available for zero-emission transit projects and paved the way forward for ZEB adoption”, CALSTART underlines.

Other states, including Arizona, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Maine, doubled their count in the last year. As the report states, “Arizona and Massachusetts saw the largest year-over-year increases at 280% and 271%, respectively.” The southeastern and southwestern United States, led by Florida and Texas, showed strong gains in the number of full-size zero emission buses, indicating these regions have accelerated the pace of adoption compared to previous years.

Fuel cell buses, a growing niche

Fuel cell e-buses continue to gain traction, with a 64% increase in adoption seen since the 2021 count. While California also leads the country in the number of FCEBs adopted, there are now 14 states with transit agencies that have adopted FCEBs, including Arizona, Delaware, Maryland, and New York. The number of states with 10 or more FCEBs doubled, growing from two states in 2021 to four in 2022.