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County hears feasibility study for zero-emission buses; board raises cost, rural-fit and policy concerns
Summary
A Stantec presentation for Trinity Transit found a phased transition to battery-electric and hydrogen fuel-cell buses is feasible with infrastructure and funding, but modeling shows range and mid-day charging/refueling constraints. Supervisors questioned cost-effectiveness for a small rural fleet and asked staff to pursue interagency advocacy.
Stantec consultants presented a zero-emission bus (ZEB) feasibility study to the Trinity County Board of Supervisors on July 1, outlining a phased plan that mixes battery-electric and hydrogen fuel-cell buses, recommended yard infrastructure and an initial procurement timeline beginning in the early 2030s.
Sarah Saad, Trinity County transportation planner, introduced Jonathan Garrett and Annalie Castillo of Stantec, who said the study models local routes, topography, temperatures and passenger loads to translate current operations into energy and charging/refueling requirements. Garrett said the firm used an in-house tool (ZebDecide) to model route-level and vehicle-level energy use and found that while many individual routes could be handled by battery electric buses, when blocks of routes were combined into single vehicle day assignments "none of the vehicles could successfully transition to battery electric and still complete service on a single charge" without…
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