The Innovative Clean Transit (ICT) rule is in the home stretch of being finalized by the California Air Resources Board (ARB). If adopted, it would catalyze the electrification of transit buses across the state. Formerly known as the Advanced Clean Transit Rule or the zero-emission bus (ZEB) regulation, the rule has been in development for a number of years and has been guided by stakeholder input from transit agencies, bus manufacturers, fuel providers, non-government organizations, and utilities. In fact, ARB slowed down the rule development proceedings in order to take the time to address claims that the technology was not ready to meet the needs of some of the agencies and that it is cost prohibitive. What resulted was as an iterative process between ARB staff and stakeholders so that these issues could be addressed while at the same time advancing the need for cleaner transit.
On June 25, the Rialto Unified School District (USD) held a ribbon cutting event to officially open its new compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station. Funded in part with Clean Transportation Funding from the MSRC, the new station is the only K-12 school district in Southern California to own and operate its own publicly-accessible CNG station. Rialto USD built the station to accommodate public vehicles, which can fuel up here 24-hours a day, seven days a week. The station is located at 261 Lilac Avenue.
The MSRC’s mission lies not only in funding clean transportation projects but also investing in projects that foster clean mobility. Advancing clean transportation initiatives is important, however; this won’t mean much if we are all stuck in traffic riding in our clean vehicles. So, the MSRC encourages innovative projects that are designed to both reduce emissions and expose people to alternative ways of getting around that might not include a vehicle at all. For example, the MSRC is supporting innovative strategies that get people out of their single passenger vehicles and into more creative modes of transportation. “Open Streets/Complete Streets” events are a fun way to introduce people to new ways to travel.
