California Air Resources Board

Review on 2023 Program Readiness

On September 22, 2022, as directed by Resolution 18-60, staff will provide the California Air Resources Board (CARB or Board) with an update on the Innovative Clean Transit (ICT) regulation, along with a comprehensive review of the program readiness, before the initiation of Zero-emission bus purchase requirements under the ICT regulation. The review will identify the status of ZEB technology to help determine ICT program readiness for 2023; it will also help the State design policies to further advance zero-emission technologies and inform funding strategies related to zero-emission vehicles and infrastructure. CARB has contracted with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and University of California Berkeley to conduct the Comprehensive Review. The Review will focus on standard buses, large transit agencies, and an assessment of meeting the first ICT regulation purchase requirements. For more information or to watch the webcast on this informational update, please view the September 22 Board Meeting date.

• Comprehensive Review of California's Innovative Clean Transit Regulation
• Notice of Public Meeting
• Item Summary 
• Meeting Presentations from California Department of Transportation, California Energy Commission, CARB, NREL, California Transit Association 
• Submit Written Comments
• View Public Comments

The Zero-Emission Bus Purchase Requirements in 2023 and 2024 Remain in Place for Large Transit Agencies

October 7, 2021

Beginning January 1, 2023, 25 percent of new bus purchases by large transit agencies, as defined, in the calendar year must be zero-emission buses (ZEBs) as required by the Innovative Clean Transit (ICT) regulation. The ZEB purchase requirement will increase over the course of the decade and will begin to apply to small transit agencies, as defined, beginning in 2026. Based on information reported in Innovative Clean Transit Reporting Tool by transit agencies in 2021, California transit agencies have collectively purchased 654 ZEBs, with 336 in service and 318 on order, by December 31, 2020. Under the ICT regulation, this shift will accelerate. Although the ICT regulation included a provision to discharge the ZEB purchase requirement in 2023 if a certain number of ZEBs were purchased earlier than required, too few were purchased to trigger it. For more information, please see the announcement.