The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) selected the Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) as one of two national nonprofits to manage its Transit Vehicle Innovation Deployment Centers (TVIDC) program. FTA created the program to support multiple transit bus research and innovation objectives, including assessing industry research, testing, and data collection needs to accelerate zero-emission bus (ZEB) adoption. In its initial task, CTE convened and steered an industry focus group of 14 transit agency C-level executives, every major US transit bus manufacturer, all three federal bus testing centers, and the American Public Transportation Association to identify the industry’s greatest challenges and consider solutions for addressing them. CTE organized two in-person and five virtual meetings over eight months in five focus areas: zero-emission bus research priorities, transit automation, zero-emission transit workforce development, collaboration with electrical utilities, and how to best leverage the federal bus testing programs at Altoona, the Ohio State University, and Auburn University.
CTE produced a draft report for focus group review. The focus groups refined considerations for the final report, which CTE delivered on schedule in June 2020. FTA published the report in January 2021, at the direction of the US Congress. The FY2022 Consolidated Appropriations Act appropriated $10 million for FTA Research to pursue zero-emission bus research objectives, directing FTA to align with the TVIDC focus group report findings. CTE organized a third focus group meeting covering ZEB workforce development in Atlanta, GA in April 2022, with an ensuing report delivered to FTA in June 2022.
Continuing the program, FTA awarded CTE a $1.375M extension of TVIDC in February of 2022. The first phase of this new effort involved surveying transit industry stakeholders and conducting research on barriers to the adoption of ZEBs in support of generating a portfolio of potential research projects. Following a review and down-selecting by FTA, six of the fifteen scopes brought to FTA were recommended for continued development, and four of those have been awarded to date.
In addition, CTE conducted a study on the effects of customization in ZEB procurements at the request of FTA. This was conceived in response to the sequence of market departures of several ZEB manufacturers in 2023. CTE held workshops with each of the remaining manufacturers to discuss challenges presented by the over-customization of transit buses and assembled a list of potential mitigation strategies. CTE then presented these strategies to a focus group of transit agencies, bus manufacturers, and other transit stakeholders to solicit feedback before delivering a report to FTA. This report is in review and expected to be published later in 2024.
The TVIDC program is expected to grow, with new project proposals being awarded annually, corresponding to available funding. Additional awards of $2.42M and $1.73M have been made to support these future projects.
