Zero emission bus rollout plan approved, electric buses coming to Tahoe

Published April 5, 2023

Placer County will order four electric buses to add to the Tahoe Truckee Area Transit (TART) system as part of the county’s larger effort to convert to a zero emissions fleet by 2040.

The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday took action to approve a Zero Emissions Bus Rollout Plan by the Department of Public Works. The plan is designed to meet the California Air Resource Board’s Innovative Clean Transit regulation, which was introduced in 2018 and requires transit systems to convert to zero emission buses by 2040.

The first all-electric buses will be ordered by the county in 2023, with an expected delivery to TART in 2025. In the coming years, new zero emissions buses will be added throughout the county.

“By 2029, every bus we buy has to be zero emission,” said Deputy Director of Public Works Will Garner. “We can have conventional buses in our fleet at the same time but each of those will need to be replaced by zero emission buses by 2040.”

Along with buses, the county will roll out plans for charging stations at bus yards in Auburn and Truckee.

The first buses being ordered now will be partially funded through a unique partnership with  Placer County. Developers of the Meadow View workforce housing project in Martis Valley pledged to help reduce vehicle emissions by providing housing for Tahoe workers and helping the county offer zero emission public transit.