The Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) has partnered with Atlanta-Region Transit Link Authority (ATL), the professional services firm, IBI Group, and engineering and consulting firm, TruePani Inc., to develop transition plans for six transit agencies in the region who are partners with ATL (Ride Gwinnett, CATS, COBB, Xpress, Henry County, and Connect Douglas). The purpose of the project is to compare how battery electric buses (BEBs) and fuel cell electric buses (FCEBs) perform as replacements for diesel vehicles by analyzing the agencies’ budgets, fleets, routes, depots, operating policies, and existing charging infrastructure.
Following the project kick-off, CTE drafted a technology assessment report. The report is based on CTE’s Zero-Emission Bus (ZEB) 101 Course and gives ATL an overview of currently available zero-emission technologies.
During Q2, CTE performed Service Assessments to show ATL’s participating transit operators what efficiency, energy consumption, and range are estimated if using ZEBs on operators’ existing routes and blocks. In Q3, CTE, IBI, and TruePani worked on drafting the transition plan for Ride Gwinnett that includes service, fleet, fuel, maintenance, facility, and total cost of ownership assessments.
In September 2023, CTE and IBI will work to provide ZEB Transition Plans to CATS, COBB, Xpress, Henry County, and Connect Douglas. These plans will include comparisons of BEB and FCEB operations against legacy fuel types. The project team is targeting Q4 to complete all ZEB Transition Plans. Recommendations for each agency are expected to help leaders make informed decisions as to how the agencies will move forward with individual and regional planning for zero-emission transitions.
