ZEB Transition Plans are an indispensable tool for agencies to reach their zero-emission goals. Your Transition Plan serves as your primary roadmap for securing future funding, scheduling infrastructure improvements, and procuring vehicles. Our guidebook outlines a nine-phase process to guide transit agencies, or any fleet operator, aiming to transition to zero-emission technologies.

The Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) is launching a new initiative to enhance how public transit agencies manage and utilize data to improve bus operations and accelerate the adoption of zero-emission fleets. This project, funded by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) under the Transit Vehicle Innovation Deployment Centers (TVIDC) program, aims to simplify and standardize data access by developing and testing data connections that unify key data streams, providing agencies with a clear and standardized approach to managing and analyzing data.

Transitioning to zero-emission fleets requires selecting the right technology to meet diverse operational needs. While battery-electric buses (BEBs) may be ideal for some routes, there are scenarios where FCEBs are a better fit — and others where a mixed fleet may provide the most efficient and flexible solution, optimizing performance across different route types and operational conditions.

The Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) announced the kickoff of a new project aimed at significantly extending the life of battery electric bus (BEB) batteries and reducing the overall cost of bus ownership for transit agencies.

CTE has launched a new project under the FTA-sponsored Transit Vehicle Innovation Deployment Centers (TVIDC) program to analyze maintenance costs for zero-emission buses (ZEBs) in public transit. This initiative will provide transit agencies with critical insights into the maintenance expenses of battery electric buses (BEBs), fuel cell electric buses (FCEBs), and traditional diesel, hybrid, and compressed natural gas (CNG) buses.

The IIJA has transformed the zero-emission transportation landscape, laying a strong foundation for industry growth, U.S. job creation, and technological advancement. As we look to the surface transportation reauthorization in 2026, CTE encourages Congress to continue to support efforts that bolster American innovation, strengthen energy independence, create U.S. jobs, expand zero-emission transportation options, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

CTE has launched a battery-free Fuel Cell Dominant Proof of Concept project under the FTA-sponsored Transit Vehicle Innovation Deployment Centers (TVIDC) program. This groundbreaking initiative, featuring fuel cell technology patented by Nimbus Power Systems, aims to transform zero-emission public transit by introducing a more efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly hydrogen fuel cell propulsion system to the transit bus market.

This Guidebook is intended to give public transit fleet operators the knowledge necessary to plan for a full fleet transition to zero-emission technologies with a ZEB Transition Plan.