Although the federal government is no longer setting climate goals to reduce GHG emissions, cities and municipalities are increasingly stepping up to set specific goals and curb these emissions. The transportation sector is now the largest greenhouse-gas-emitting sector. Public transit agencies are natural allies in this fight for a cleaner environment. As part of that fight, the transition to a cleaner and more efficient vehicle fleet will be central to achieving sustainability goals.

Fortunately, the public transit bus fleet has already made substantial improvement in adopting cleaner vehicles, with hybrid-electric buses representing more than 21 percent of the fleet. Transit agencies are now targeting zero-emission buses as the next phase in this progression. Market forces will help to decrease the costs of these technologies and enhance their effectiveness. However, the sustainability benefits of zero-emission buses are already apparent, with significant reductions in greenhouse gases and particulate matter.

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