California Air Resources Board

Background

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) hosted a public Truck Regulation Implementation Group (TRIG) meeting to discuss the Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) rule provisions. This was the second meeting of the Rule Provisions TRIG.[1] The meeting included discussion of the following topics:

• The Zero-Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) Purchase Exemption process
• Types of documentation commonly provided by manufacturers/dealers when purchasing vehicles
• A preliminary draft list of currently available ZEV manufacturers of Class 6-8 vehicles

The meeting was recorded and is available on YouTube.

Meeting Summary

The meeting focused on the ZEV Purchase Exemption. Staff provided TRIG panelists with a handout prior to the meeting that provided links to the ZEV Purchase Exemption frequently asked questions (FAQ) document, and links to the regulation identifying the specific regulatory sections for the ZEV Purchase Exemption. Also included in the meeting handout were descriptions of the process for requesting a ZEV Purchase Exemption, eligibility criteria, an example draft list of zero-emission vehicle manufacturers, and information about monthly question and answer sessions offered by CARB to assist with general ACF compliance assistance.

The following are summaries of feedback for each topic discussed during the meeting.

ZEV Purchase Exemption comments:

• Assistance on navigating ZEV Purchase Exemption application timelines.
• Concerns over the future costs associated with ZEV purchases.
• Can CARB provide a standardized form for fleet owners to apply for the exemption?
• Suggest that the minimum useful life requirement for state and local government fleets using the ZEV Purchase Schedule take into account issues like finding a suitable replacement due to timing of vehicle age related replacements, tedious public procurement processes, and the varying timelines of purchasing different vehicle types.
• Suggest that CARB provide guidance on what exemptions are available if a fleet does not qualify for a ZEV Purchase Exemption.
• Concern about the reasonableness of assessing the replacement suitability of the entire fleet when applying for the ZEV Purchase Exemption.
• Suggest that CARB and manufacturers work together to identify a general process and the associated documents required of fleets when purchasing a truck.
• Suggest that CARB provide periodic updates of requested exemptions and provide examples of approved applications.

Draft List of Zero-Emission Vehicles Manufacturers comments:

• Suggestion that vehicle manufacturers identified on the list have different quality measures and that conversions do not undergo robust engineering processes as the larger more established manufacturers.
• Concern about the ability of low volume manufacturers to adequately service their vehicles in the future.
• What information can be provided by the manufacturer to help fleet owners make decisions about the applicable vehicle purchases?
• Concerns expressed about the weight of ZEVs and the available payload capacity. Suggestion that front axle weight limitations create challenges for the type of vehicle configurations that can be built on the chassis.
• Suggestion to include the number of vehicles that have been deployed for vehicles identified on the list.
• Identify the locations of manufacturer service centers.
• Categorize manufacturers as either a high volume or low volume manufacturer.
• Vehicle configurations rely primarily on the dealer network.
• Dealers need specific certifications to sell and service ZEVs.
• Concerns over the ability to approximate vehicle production lead times because they vary by manufacturer and model.

Future Meetings

Members were asked for feedback and to provide suggestions for future meetings. Those comments and suggestions included:

• Monthly or bi-monthly meetings with a meeting length of two hours.
• Future meeting topics to discuss the Infrastructure Delay Extension and the Daily Usage Exemption.
• Follow up on the ZEV Purchase Exemption list.

Action Items

• Schedule next Rule Provisions TRIG meeting.
• Create a standardized meeting structure with an agenda for each meeting.
• In addition to CARB sending out a listserv notice, the co-chairs Bradley or Rebecca will send out a two week notice before each TRIG meeting.

Members In Attendance

• Bradley Northup, City of Carlsbad, co-chair
• Gerald Berumen, CARB, co-chair
• Jimmy Steele, CARB
• Tony Brasil, CARB
• Dorothy Fibiger, CARB
• Chris Franceschi, CARB
• Tiffany Canales, CARB
• Bret Stevens, Daimler Trucks
• David Clifford, Ventura Transfer Company
• Don Jones, City and County of San Francisco
• Harmony Gates, Yorke Engineering
• Jon Costantino, California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance
• Kristina Corby, California Electric Transportation Coalition
• Matt Mesick, Isuzu Commercial Truck of America
• Michael Lewis, Construction Industry Air Quality Coalition
• Mike Tunnell, American Trucking Associations
• Morgan Mitchell, Westside Water Authority
• Nick Blair, Association of California Water Agencies
• Paul Rosa, Penske
• Rick Albertini, Phenix Truck Bodies & Van Equipment
• Sarah Deslauriers, California Association of Sanitation Agencies
• Steve Nelson, Local regional trucking based in Monterey County
• Suzanne Seivright-Sutherland, California, and Industrial Materials Association

[1] A joint TRIG meeting was held with the infrastructure group on March 11, 2024

Principal Investigator/Authors: Charisma Acey, Margaretta Lin                 

Contractors: University of California, Berkeley

Sub-contractors: Just Cities and West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project

Contract number: 21RD009

Project Status: Active

Relevant CARB programs: Sustainable Communities & Climate Protection Program, Research Planning

Topic areas: Sustainable Communities, Research & Sustainable Communities, Sustainable Community Strategies (SCS), Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Reduction & Climate Goals, Land Use & Transportation Research

Research Summary:

This project will examine public investment policies and systemic precedents that contribute to the inequitable distribution of resources and resulting disparities across California communities. The project will identify opportunities and potential resources to address these inequities in public infrastructure investment policies and practices in the housing, land use, and transportation sectors. The project findings and resulting report, will identify and prioritize equitable policies that also contribute to reductions in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and preserve, protect, and allow to produce more affordable housing across the state. In addition to offering opportunities to identify how existing and new public investments can be utilized to yield economic, environmental, and social returns to support healthy and more sustainable community development.

The project will develop an online policy mapping tool with multiple resources to support local decision-makers and advocates in preventing current and future harm for people of color and other vulnerable populations as well as reduction in VMT and GHG emissions. The mapping tool will share a research action model to help users identify local conditions and impact (environmental, health, housing, transportation) to understand their connection to inequitable policies and practices in their selected regions. In addition, the tool will include six unique case studies cataloguing history of policies and impacts (drivers of pollution and inequity), existing solutions, and visionary solutions proposed by communities. Moreover, the mapping tool will feature a database of equitable and inequitable investment policies, practices, and strategies across California that have prevented or created harm in distinct geographies. All tools will be developed through a transformative planning process alongside an Environmental Justice Advisory Council.

Keywords: sustainable community strategies (SCS); transportation and land use; equitable climate policy; evaluation methods

Sustainable Transportation Equity Project (STEP) Implementation Grant

San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) | Our Community, Our Shuttle: Bayview-Hunters Point Equitable Mobility 

June 2022 – March 2026

Project Details

Our Community, Our Shuttle includes a zero-emission, on-demand, and dynamic shuttle service in the Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood. SFMTA will augment this new shuttle service, working with partners to: install a series of pedestrian and transit safety and accessibility improvements identified through the Bayview Community-based Transportation Plan, recruit and train shuttle drivers from within the community in coordination with the CityDrive workforce program, and run a transportation resource center to answer transportation-related questions and connect residents with transportation services and subsidies. All project elements will include extensive outreach and public engagement, including oversight from a Community Congress.

Funding Details

Grant Amount: $10,569,100

Resource Contributions: $3,477,200

Project Total: $14,046,300

By the Numbers

Services, Vehicles & Equipment Funded

• 6 zero-emission shuttles
• About 50 community engagement events planned
• 5.6 miles of bike lane/sidewalks
• Up to 9 pedestrian bulb-out projects
• 2 quick-build active transportation projects
• Shuttle driver trainings completed for 20-30 participants annually
• 0.6 full-time equivalent Transportation Liaison at the Transportation Resource Center
• 6 Transportation Resource Center Youth Champions supporting the Transportation Resource Center
• 10 Community Congress meetings, convening 15 community delegates

Estimated Quantifiable Benefits

• GHG emission reductions: 473 MTCO2e
• NO_x reductions: 143 lbs
• PM_2.5 reductions: 31 lbs
• ROG reductions: 36 lbs
• Passenger VMT reductions: 1,759,709 miles
• Travel cost savings: $800,668
• Transportation fossil fuel reductions:​ 35,450 gallons
• Direct Jobs: 127
• Indirect Jobs: 24
• Induced Jobs: 40

Community Details

The project focuses on the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood of San Francisco. Bayview-Hunters Point is a resilient and culturally rich community in the southeast of San Francisco with a long history of successful environmental justice advocacy. One of the historical centers of the City’s African American community, Bayview is now a majority Asian, African American, and Hispanic/Latinx community with a high percentage of limited English speakers. Almost half of residents live below 200% of the federal poverty level, with a high concentration of very low-income households in redeveloped public housing, or HOPESF sites, that are in geographically isolated areas and have limited access to the city’s Muni transportation system. 21% of residents do not own a car, with the highest concentrations of car-free households in HOPESF housing. 3.4 miles of streets in the STEP Community are designated on the City's High Injury Network; almost all of these high-injury streets are located on major transit corridors with critical community destinations or in close proximity to HOPESF affordable housing sites.

Demographics of Community Served by Project

36% Asian, 26% Black or African American, 24% Hispanic/Latino, 9% White, Other 8%
Median Household Income: $56,724

Community Benefits

This project intends to co-create services that directly address mobility gaps for Bayview-Hunters Point residents, paving the way for an equitable transportation network. The project will take a people-first approach that is restorative and embedded within community context and culture, intended to:

• Increase mobility and choice for those most vulnerable to transportation challenges
• Generate holistic environmental and socio-economic benefits through the provision of sustainable and accessible zero-emissions transportation alternatives, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and greater access to critical community-serving destinations
• Seek to repair harm, incorporate restorative measures, and utilize lessons from the past to design a better future
• Deliver culturally relevant solutions that are embedded within community context 
• Center community decision-making and ownership of data
• Ensure investment and accountability from local leadership that parallels community contributions

Outreach & Engagement Strategies

• Surveys
• Pop-up events
• Focus groups
• Project demonstrations
• Community meetings
• Work groups
• Flyers and brochures 

Target Populations

• Youth
• Seniors
• Residents with a disability
• Residents with limited English proficiency
• Residents in affordable housing

Partnership Structure

Grantee

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) is a department of the City and County of San Francisco responsible for the management of all ground transportation in the city. The SFMTA has oversight over the Municipal Railway (Muni) public transit, as well as bicycling, paratransit, parking, traffic, walking, and taxis, creating transportation options that are constant, practical and everywhere and connecting people with their community to enhance the economy, environment and quality of life.

Subgrantees 

• A. Philip Randolph Institute San Francisco
• Young Community Developers
• Community Youth Center
• Bayview Hunters Point Community Advocates
• Mission Neighborhood Centers
• Hunters Point Family
• Amplify Impact
• Bay Area Community Resources
• Office of Economic and Workforce Development
• San Francisco Arts & Cultural District

Community Partners

• Rafiki Coalition
• Bayview Hunters Point YMCA
• BMAGIC
• Hunters Point Shipyard Citizen Advisory Committee
• Wu Yee Children's Services
• Southeast Community Facility Commission
• San Francisco Recreation and Parks
• Economic Development on Third
• Social & Environmental Justice Committee SEIU 1021
• Bayview Hunter's Point Citizen Advisory Committee

Contact

Robert Lim | (415) 646-2403 | SFMTA