California has over 15 years of experience operating fuel cell electric buses (FCEBs) with 20 buses currently in daily revenue service across three locations. Interest in zero-emission buses is growing both in California and abroad as they help reduce emissions. FCEBs have consistently performed well compared to diesel buses by maintaining power in various conditions, operating quietly, and achieving double the fuel efficiency while emitting no local pollution. They pave the way for introducing other zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles as transit agencies help develop and assess new technologies.

1. Fuel Cell Electric Buses
in California
More than 15 years of experience in California
California has 20 fuel cell electric buses (FCEBs) operating in daily revenue service at three locations.
 13 in the San Francisco East Bay by
AC Transit
 5 in the Coachella Valley with SunLine
Transit, with 7 additional buses planned for
delivery
 1 at UC Irvine
 1 at Orange County Transportation
Authority (OCTA) (coming April 2016)
 1 25-passenger transit shuttle is funded for
operation by Fresno County Rural Transit
Agency
 2 25-passenger transit shuttles are funded
for Cal State LA
 2 29-passenger transit shuttles are funded
for SunLine
Interest in zero-emission buses is growing here and abroad
38 applicants recently applied for $23.6 million (FY14-15 funds) in state funding for zero-emission buses
and medium and heavy-duty vehicles. This grant funding cycle was over-subscribed for a total of $290
million in requests. Another $60 million was planned for FY 15-16 for this program, but remains
unappropriated.
 The European Union is currently soliciting applicants for a program to build up to 100 fuel cell
electric buses, validating industry reports that sufficient volume can reduce the cost to an equivalent
of $700k per bus.
 In China, construction has begun on more than 300 FCEBs for the cities of Rugao, Foshan and Yunfu
in 2016/17.
 In Japan, Hino, a subsidiary of Toyota, plans on producing 100 FCEBs for the Tokyo Metropolitan
Government in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Why FCEBs?
Fuel cell electric buses have consistently demonstrated superb operating performance in their ability to
maintain sustained power and acceleration in a wide spectrum of operating conditions, smooth and
quiet operation, and the same range as conventional buses with about double the fuel efficiency. Plus -
 No local in-route emissions
 Quiet operations
 Operate well in extreme temperatures
FCEBs pave the way for the introduction of heavy-duty vehicles
 Transit agencies tend to be first adopters of advanced heavy-duty vehicle technologies. Such efforts
enable the private sector to assess and adopt these technologies.
 Supporting zero-emission buses, battery and fuel cell, will not only help local transit agencies
contribute to on-road emission reduction, it will also help develop the technology for other medium
and heavy-duty vehicle platforms.
Status Report
 More than 2.7 million miles in service in California.
 More than 2.5 million passengers carried in California.
 DOE and DOT have set performance targets. These targets (e.g. range or fuel economy) have been
achieved or are within line of sight without requiring major technology advances (e.g. durability).

2. California Fuel Cell Partnership CaFCP.org
 FCEBs are at Technology Readiness Level 7 – Level 9 is considered commercial.
 The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has collected FCEB data across North America
since 2004.
SunLine Transit (Thousand Palms, CA)
 In 1994, SunLine was the first transit agency in the U.S. to transition its entire fleet to CNG buses.
 In 2001, SunLine acquired its first FCEB. The most recently received buses represent SunLine’s 8th
generation of FCEBs.
 Since then, its fuel cell buses have accumulated more than 1.3 million miles.
AC Transit (Oakland, CA)
 Since 2000, AC Transit has been building the most comprehensive hydrogen fuel cell demonstration
program in the United States.
 From 2006 to 2010, AC Transit operated three FCEBs, logging more than 270,000 miles and carrying
over 700,000 passengers, all while achieving significantly greater overall energy efficiency than
diesel buses.
 In 2010, AC Transit received 12 new FCEBs, which have since logged more than 1.4 million miles and
174,281 hours of operation. In 2014, the FCEB transferred from CT Transit was added, bringing the
total size of the AC Transit fleet to 13.
 The lead fuel cell on one bus is now at 22,000 hours of life and is a 2002 design that was not expected to
exceed 5,000 hours.
 AC Transit’s fuel cell buses have consistently achieved 80% greater fuel efficiency than comparable
diesel buses. On higher speed, commuter routes, the efficiency has been as much as twice that of
the diesel fleet.
Centers of Excellence
CaFCP’s members developed the Bus Road Map which calls for Northern and Southern California centers
of excellence in order to provide the economies of scale necessary for substantive cost reductions.
SunLine Transit, a national and international leader in FCEB demonstration, is committed to becoming a
center of excellence and a showcase for the technology.
A center of excellence would have these features:
 A large scale deployment of fuel cell hybrid buses that comply with transit agency requirements and
are operated in normal revenue service on scheduled runs (e.g. no compromise or deviation in
service)
 A 12-year operating period, per US DOT FTA
 Hydrogen fueling infrastructure with throughput sufficient to achieve a fuel cost per mile
comparable to conventional buses
 Regional training and education for transit staff and community stakeholders
Resources
 National Fuel Cell Bus Program - http://www.fta.dot.gov/about/14617.html
 Fuel Cell Bus Targets - www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/12012_fuel_cell_bus_targets.pdf
 National Fuel Cell Bus Evaluations - http://www.nrel.gov/hydrogen/proj_fc_bus_eval.html
 International Fuel Cell Bus Collaborative - http://gofuelcellbus.com/
Questions? Contact the California Fuel Cell Partnership
Nico Bouwkamp, Technical Program Manager, nbouwkamp@cafcp.org
Keith Malone, Public Affairs, kmalone@cafcp.org
Bill Elrick, Executive Director, belrick@cafcp.org