A significant part of Via’s mission is to reduce the carbon impact of the transportation sector by offering efficient, shared rides that help decrease reliance on single-occupancy vehicles. While sharing rides is one way to reduce our carbon footprint, vehicle electrification is another major opportunity to reduce emissions from transportation.
One major obstacle for transit leaders seeking to electrify their fleet is the high upfront cost for medium and heavy duty electric vehicles, such as buses. However, the California Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP for short) aims to even the playing field between gas guzzlers and low-emission vehicles.
HVIP offers up-front discounts on medium and heavy duty hybrid and zero emission vehicles, including both fuel cell and electric vehicles. Additionally, discounts will be increased for public transit agencies, school buses for public school districts, and vehicles operating in disadvantaged communities. For example, a public school district could receive up to $198,000 off the price of a new electric bus; a public transit agency could receive $69,000 off the price of a new Class 4 electric shuttle.
On March 30, 2022, HVIP will open its FY21-22 round of funding , with $196.6M available in total funding, including set-asides of $65.6M for public transit buses and $122M for buses for certain public school districts. If the number of vouchers requested exceeds funding available within the first 24 hours, which is likely, vouchers will be awarded on a random basis; otherwise, funds will be disbursed on a first-come, first-served basis. Applicants may request up to 30 vouchers each. For more information about the program, please consult the HVIP implementation FAQs and funding page.
At Via, we’ve had a lot of experience incorporating electric vehicles into public transit fleets as we’ve done in Sacramento, Jersey City, and Milton Keynes. Our technology can support the entire lifecycle of electrification — from properly designing an electric service to efficiently operating it day-to-day, such as by providing visibility into vehicle telematics and smart routing to charger stations.
If you’d like to learn more about planning a zero-emission microtransit, paratransit, or school bus service, please reach out to partnerships@ridewithvia.com We’d love to help you figure out how to put these amazing HVIP deals to good use!