King County Council approves zero-emission metro fleet by 2035
Feb 4, 2020, 5:05 PM

King County purchased 100 electric buses in 2017 to start its transition to an all electric bus fleet. (King County)
(King County)
The King County Council unanimously approved on Tuesday the conversion of metro buses and other county vehicles to be all electric by 2035.
鈥淲ith the passage of this ordinance, we have provided a much needed 鈥榡ump start鈥 toward our effort to significantly reduce and eliminate carbon emissions from our county鈥檚 fleet,鈥 said Councilmember Jeanne Kohl-Welles, sponsor of the ordinance. 鈥淭his will not be an easy task. But we are running out of time and the climate crisis is only worsening. It is up to us to lead by showing the rest of the nation and world that we can transition to all-electric by utilizing the best available technology and by setting tough but achievable goals.鈥
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The plan speeds up the previously set timeline for an zero-emission fleet by five years. Metro expects to have more than 2,000 battery-electric and electric trolley buses in use over the next 20 years, according to its .
鈥淎s written, this ordinance does not direct Metro to retire buses early. It does set ambitious targets. It will be up to Metro to determine how it achieves those targets,鈥 Kohl-Welles said. 鈥淐learly, meeting these targets will require a significant transformation to the fleet and the supporting infrastructure. And this is needed now because we are facing a crisis. A crisis that is only worsening.鈥
says electric buses produce no exhaust, less noise, and have lower operating costs, eliminating greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality. Currently, there are 185 zero-emission buses in the fleet, including 174 electric trolley buses on overhead wires and 11 battery-electric buses.
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Other King County-owned vehicles will be converted to electric as part of the accelerated plan, and more charging infrastructure will be added to county facilities to accommodate the new vehicles.