Atlanta, GA, September 2018 - The Center for Transportation and the Environment hosted the 2018 Zero Emission Bus Conference in Los Angeles, California on September 10th and 11th at LA Metro. This was the largest Zero Emission Bus Conference to date, with more than 300 participants from around the world in attendance.
Dan Raudebaugh, Executive Director of CTE, addresses the crowd on Day 1.Since taking over the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) fuel cell electric bus working group meetings in 2011, CTE has expanded the scope of the conferences to encompass both battery-electric and fuel cell-electric technologies in order to educate interested transit agencies.
"The overwhelming interest in the Conference is a testament to the technology's viability and operators' commitment to making a zero-emission transition," says Lauren Justice, Development Director at CTE.
The conference's theme this year focused on deploying zero-emission buses (ZEBs) at scale. A key message delivered throughout the Conference was whether an agency is in the initial stages of its first pilot, or already on a path to complete electrification, every decision should be approached systemically and with future fleet expansion in mind. More than 60 unique transit properties represented a range of experience levels with zero-emission technologies. Specifically, California participants paid special attention as they look forward to electrifying their entire fleets. Overall, attendees left with very positive reviews of their time at the conference and energized for the next 2019 International ZEB Conference to be held in San Francisco, California. The conferences are held in the US and internationally every other year with separate US and EU events in the interim. Our 2018 sister conference will take place in Cologne, Germany from November 27th to November 28th. Follow @Go_CTE on Twitter for more updates on current and future ZEB conferences, as well as zero emission technology news.