San Francisco to have all-electric bus fleet by 2035

An all-electric bus fleet is coming to San Francisco by 2035. The commitment stems from an agreement between mayor Mark Farrell and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), which operates Muni – the city’s public transit system. Muni manages a fleet of zero-emission electric trolley buses and a fleet of low- emission electric hybrid vehicles. The SFMTA is rolling out new electric buses with higher capacity battery systems that supply power for its vehicles along several hybrid routes.
May 21, 2018 Read time: 2 mins

An all-electric bus fleet is coming to San Francisco by 2035. The commitment stems from an agreement between mayor Mark Farrell and the 4802 San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), which operates Muni – the city’s public transit system.

Muni manages a fleet of zero-emission electric trolley buses and a fleet of low- emission electric hybrid vehicles.

The SFMTA is rolling out new electric buses with higher capacity battery systems that supply power for its vehicles along several hybrid routes.

Additionally, the agency plans to advance its technology when manufacturers can prove electric buses can withstand heavy ridership and steep hills. It would also consider new facilities that can charge a large fleet and develop an infrastructure to power vehicles in service or on the street.

John Haley, SFMTA’s transit director says: “While the battery technology is emerging rapidly, it isn’t quite ready for primetime. Manufacturers aren’t yet producing the number of all-electric buses San Francisco and other urban areas would need, nor could we guarantee that the vehicles would work for the required 15 years with heavy ridership and challenging topography.”

The SFMTA intends to buy a limited number of zero-emission battery electric buses in 2019 and evaluate how they perform on crowded and hilly routes.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • UK council ‘budget cuts’ halt development of EV charging
    March 18, 2019
    More than 100 UK local authorities say they have no plans to increase their number of electric vehicle (EV) charging points. These findings have been revealed from freedom of information (FoI) requests submitted by the Liberal Democrats and shared with The Guardian newspaper. According to the report, Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat former energy and climate change secretary, says the lack of investment in charging points is due to “cuts to council budgets”. “Unless there is urgent action to tackle our out
    Read More
  • Building back better after Covid-19
    February 17, 2021
    The Canadian Urban Transit Association has looked carefully at what’s required to put public transportation on a firm footing post-Covid: here are a few of the group’s recommendations…
    Read More
  • IBTTA summit hits right notes in Salzburg
    December 5, 2018
    In the birthplace of Mozart, Colin Sowman found that delegates at the IBTTA’s inaugural World Tolling Summit were playing a variety of interesting tunes The first World Tolling Summit took place in Salzburg, Austria this autumn. Created and organised by the International Bridge Tolling and Turnpike Association (IBTTA), the event was supported by its European counterpart Asecap and hosted by Austria’s tolling authority, Asfinag. The transfer of views, experience and practice both ways across the Atl
    Read More
  • Timing is everything for EV charging
    January 23, 2020
    Electric vehicles are often promoted as a more sustainable alternative to diesel and petrol cars - but their arrival raises concerns about the strain which charging will put on the grid.
    Read More

Highlighted Content