State of California 

AIR RESOURCES BOARD 

Resolution 09-49 

July 23, 2009 

Agenda Item No.: 09-7-6 

WHEREAS, sections 39600 and 39601 of the Health and Safety Code authorize the 

Air Resources Board (ARB or Board) to adopt standards, rules, and regulations and to 

do such acts as may be necessary for the proper execution of the powers and duties 

granted to and imposed upon the Board by law; 

WHEREAS, in section 43000 of the Health and Safety Code, the Legislature has 

declared that the emission of air pollutants from motor vehicles is the primary cause of 

air pollution in many parts of the State and, in sections 39002 and 39003 of the Health 

and Safety Code, has charged the Board with the responsibility of systematically 

addressing the serious air pollution problem caused by motor vehicles; 

WHEREAS, sections 43013, 43101, and 43104 of the Health and Safety Code 

authorize the Board to adopt motor vehicle emission standards, in-use performance 

standards, and test procedures, which it finds to be necessary, cost-effective, and 

technologically feasible; 

WHEREAS, section 43018 of the Health and Safety Code directs the Board to endeavor 

to achieve the maximum degree of emission reduction possible from motor vehicle 

sources to accomplish the attainment of state ambient air quality standards by the 

earliest practicable date; 

WHEREAS, section 43806 of the Health and Safety Code directs the Board to adopt 

emission standards and procedures applicable to new engines used in publicly owned 

and privately owned public transit buses; 

WHEREAS, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) has 

promulgated emission standards and programs to reduce emissions from urban transit 

buses, and those standards and programs can be found in title 40 of the Code of 

Federal Regulations, part 86; 

WHEREAS, section 43701(b) of the Health and Safety Code requires the Board to 

adopt regulations that require heavy-duty diesel vehicles to utilize emission control 

equipment and alternative fuels to reduce emissions to the greatest extent feasible; 

WHEREAS, section 39667 of the Health and Safety Code directs the Board to achieve 

the maximum possible reduction in public exposure to toxic air contaminants by 
Resolution 09-49 2 

establishing emission standards for vehicular sources, including new and in-use motor 

vehicles and fuels; 

WHEREAS, on August 27, 1998, following extensive scientific review and public 

hearings, and consistent with the conclusions of the Scientific Review Panel and the 

Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, the Board formally identified 

particulate matter (PM) emissions from diesel-fueled engines as a toxic air contaminant 

and on September 28, 2000, approved a plan to reduce risk from diesel pollution by 

reducing harmful PM emissions from diesel engines; 

WHEREAS, the Board, through the adoption of Resolution 98-49 on September 24, 1998, 

called on state, local, and federal agencies to join together to “clean the fleet,” supported 

immediate and continuing efforts to replace diesel-fueled school and public urban transit 

buses with low-emission alternative-fuel buses, including the provision of necessary 

infrastructure and technical training, and directed the staff to distribute this resolution to 

multiple affected parties; 

WHEREAS, at a public hearing on February 24, 2000, the Board adopted 

Resolution 00-2 to achieve near-term and long-term emission reductions from urban 

transit buses through a multifaceted fleet rule requiring transit agencies to switch to low 

sulfur (less than 15 parts per million) diesel fuel, and requiring transit agencies to 

purchase specified percentages of zero emission buses; 

WHEREAS, the Board, through Resolution 00-2, directed the Executive Officer to work 

with transit agencies during implementation of the regulations, including provisions of 

the fleet rule, and to report to the Board regularly on transit agencies’ progress in 

implementing the regulations; 

WHEREAS, at a public hearing on June 24, 2004, the Board adopted Resolution 04-19, 

which revised the zero emission bus demonstration project requirements and timetable; 

added provisions that would allow manufacturers to sell diesel hybrid-electric buses 

certified to a 2004-2006 model-year exhaust emission standard of 1.8 g/bhp-hr oxides 

of nitrogen (NOx) and 0.01 g/bhp-hr PM; and added provisions that would allow transit 

agencies on the diesel path to purchase diesel hybrid electric buses, so long as they 

satisfy requirements to reduce NOx emissions from their other buses;

WHEREAS, at a public hearing on October 19, 2006, the Board adopted 

Resolution 06-28 postponing the purchase requirement for NOx by three years for 

transit agencies on the diesel path, and one to two years for those agencies on the 

alternative path, and requiring an advanced demonstration project to offset some of the 

emission losses resulting from the postponement; 

WHEREAS, the Board, through Resolution 06-28, directed ARB staff to report to the 

Board no later then July 2009, with its assessment of zero emission bus technology and 

its readiness for commercialization, and recommending consideration to be given to the 
Resolution 09-49 3 

implementation criteria listed below, as well as any other relevant factors, in completing 

its evaluation and recommendation to the Board. 

Implementation 

Criteria 

Purchase Cost 

Fuel Cell vs. Electric Trolley Bus 

1.25 : 1 

Fuel Cell Durability or Warranty 20,000 hours 

Reliability (Miles between Propulsion Related Road 

Calls) 

10,000 miles 

WHEREAS, ARB staff conducted public workshops on May 20, 2009 and May 21, 2009, 

as well as public outreach meetings and several focused stakeholder meetings throughout 

the technology assessment process, in order to include the public and affected stakeholders 

in the progress assessment for commercial readiness; and 

WHEREAS, based on the information in the public record, including the staff technology 

assessment presentation and testimony provided at the hearing, the Board finds that: 

1. A delay in the advanced demonstration of the next generation zero emission bus 

technologies has not yet allowed for appropriate technology assessment for 

commercial readiness; 

2. Costs of zero emission buses remain significantly higher than the target purchase 

cost described above; 

3. Recent budget cuts have forced transit agencies to reduce service and to delay 

purchase of replacement buses; 

4. A further delay in the purchase requirement is necessary based on the current 

technology and cost assessment; 

5. Zero emission bus technology advancements and cost effectiveness should be 

measured against commercially known cost, durability, availability, and reliability 

metrics and used as purchase-implementation criteria to initiate future purchase 

requirements; 

6. Once zero emission bus technology achieves commercial-readiness metrics, a 

15-percent purchase requirement should be implemented that includes an 

appropriate amount of lead time for budget, procurement, and manufacturing cycles 

and is phased in over a period of time to progressively ramp up to the full 15-percent 

annual purchase requirement; and 

7. Due to current significant reductions in criteria pollutants from diesel and natural gas 

transit buses, a new focus on greenhouse gas reductions from transit is appropriate 

for the zero emission bus regulation; 
Resolution 09-49 4 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board directs ARB staff to prepare 

amendments to California Code of Regulations, title 13, sections 2023.1, 2023.3, and 

2023.4, to do the following: 

 

1. Delay the purchase requirement; 

2. Research and develop commercial-readiness metrics to be used as 

purchase-implementation criteria to initiate the zero emission bus purchase 

requirement; 

3. Implement the purchase requirement once commercial readiness has been achieved 

based on the pre-determined metrics, and allow for a proper lead-time and ramp-up 

period to eventually reach a 15-percent annual replacement cycle; and 

4. Report back to the Board no later than July 2012 on progress towards zero emission 

bus commercialization. 

I hereby certify that the above is a true and 

correct copy of Resolution 09-49, as 

adopted by the Air Resources Board. 

/s/ 

______________________________ 

Monica Vejar, Clerk of the Board