Taking the Bus to Zero-Emissions Mobility

The briefing advocates for the electrification of the U.S. bus fleet, emphasizing that buses are more immediately deployable than light rail for reducing carbon emissions. It proposes a phased approach to fleet transition, the use of innovative financing mechanisms like Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) to overcome high upfront costs, and a reallocation of federal funding to eliminate petroleum-fueled bus procurement by 2030.

• Electrifying the U.S. fleet of 610,000 school buses and transit vehicles, which transport 48 million people daily, is presented as a highly effective strategy for clean mobility compared to the goal of 50 million individual electric vehicle purchases this decade.
• The author recommends that by 2022, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) should shift half of their capital grant funding toward bus electrification and resiliency, with the goal of ending funding for petroleum-fueled buses by 2030.
• To manage the transition, transit operators should use a phased 'pilot to scale stage-gate methodology' and scenario planning, as operating electric buses introduces new constraints regarding range and charging downtime compared to diesel vehicles.
• High upfront costs for buses and charging infrastructure can be addressed through innovative financing, such as on-bill financing from utilities for batteries or the use of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) supported by green banks and public-private partnerships.
• The transition to electric buses serves as a precursor and learning model for the electrification of medium- and heavy-duty trucking fleets.

APA

RMI (2021). Taking the Bus to Zero-Emissions Mobility. https://rmi.org/resources/taking-the-bus-to-zero-emission-mobility/

Chicago

RMI. Taking the Bus to Zero-Emissions Mobility. 2021. https://rmi.org/resources/taking-the-bus-to-zero-emission-mobility/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Taking the Bus to Zero-Emissions Mobility |date=26 January 2021 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/taking-the-bus-to-zero-emission-mobility/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2021taking, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Taking the Bus to Zero-Emissions Mobility}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2021}, month = jan, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/taking-the-bus-to-zero-emission-mobility/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }