Taking the Bus to Zero-Emissions Mobility

This briefing by RMI argues that the electrification of public transit buses is a critical catalyst for achieving zero-tailpipe emissions in passenger and freight mobility. It emphasizes that buses are more adaptable and faster to deploy than light rail and suggests a phased approach to fleet electrification, supported by innovative financing and federal policy shifts to overcome high upfront costs.

• Electrifying the existing fleet of 610,000 school buses and transit vehicles, which transport 48 million people daily in the United States, is presented as a highly effective strategy for clean mobility.
• The document proposes specific federal funding shifts for 2021 and 2022: an immediate infusion of federal financial support for transit operations in 2021, and a reallocation by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) of half of capital grant funding toward bus electrification and resiliency by 2022, with the goal of ending petroleum-fueled bus funding by 2030.
• Transit agencies face a gap between high upfront capital costs and long-term operational savings because they lack accounting mechanisms to recognize those savings. Proposed solutions include third-party loans for batteries, on-bill financing from electric utilities, and the use of power purchase agreements (PPAs) for charging depots to remove the fuel cost burden from operators.
• A phased, 'pilot to scale stage-gate methodology' is recommended for fleet electrification. This approach allows agencies to use scenario planning and knowledge gained from initial deployments to inform future infrastructure and orders, specifically addressing constraints like vehicle range and the need for more charging downtime compared to diesel refueling.
• Bus electrification is positioned as a precursor and guide for the electrification of medium- and heavy-duty truck fleets, as the lessons learned from bus operations—such as defined routes and real-time telematics—will aid the trucking transition.

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} }