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2 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie Chairman Phil Mendelson
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6 Councilmember Anita Bonds Councilmember Elissa Silverman
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10 Councilmember Robert C. White, Jr. Councilmember Christina Henderson
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14 Councilmember Brianne K. Nadeau Councilmember Brooke Pinto
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18 Councilmember Mary M. Cheh Councilmember Janeese Lewis George
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22 Councilmember Charles Allen Councilmember Vincent C. Gray
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26 Councilmember Trayon White, Sr.
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31 A PROPOSED RESOLUTION
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36 IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
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41 RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
42 resolution may be cited as the Sense of the Council Urging WMATAs Bus Fleet Electrification
43 Resolution of 2021.
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44 Sec. 2. The Council finds that:
45 (1) The Clean Energy DC Omnibus Amendment Act of 2018 (D.C. Law 22-257)
46 mandates that 50 percent of public buses be low or zero-emission by 2030 and 100 percent zero-
47 emission by 2045.
48 (2) The District of Columbia is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions
49 50 percent below 2006 levels by 2032 and be carbon neutral by 2050.
50 (3) The District of Columbia aims to be a leader on sustainability, while other
51 major U.S. cities have already committed to electrifying their bus fleets. Los Angeles, for
52 example, has committed to electrifying its fleet by 2030, San Francisco by 2035, and Chicago,
53 New York and Seattle by 2040.
54 (4) Electrification saves money: The Washington Metropolitan Area Transmit
55 Authority (WMATA) would save at least $350 million over the lifetime of its fleet if 50 percent
56 of its fleet is comprised of electric buses, according to a 2020 Sierra Club report; savings would
57 increase if more electric buses were added.
58 (5) Electrification reduces global warming: If 50 percent of the WMATA bus
59 fleet is electrified, greenhouse gas emissions would be reduced by more than 58,000 tons of
60 carbon dioxide per year by 2030, according to the 2020 report.
61 (6) Electrification improves the public health: Even with more stringent tailpipe
62 emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles, like buses, pollution (both particulate and ozone
63 precursors) from diesel buses causes a wide range of health problems, especially in children and
64 vulnerable neighborhoods, including asthma and cancer. Electrifying WMATAs fleet would
65 improve air quality and therefore the public health for Washington, D.C., area residents, saving
66 them more than $8 million per year (according to the 2020 report) in health care costs once the
67 fleet is fully electric.
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68 (7) While compressed natural gas is cleaner than diesel fuel, it contributes more to
69 greenhouse gas emissions than desired, so it is imperative to eliminate use of any form of fossil
70 fuel in WMATAs bus fleet.
71 (8) In June 2020, the Federal Transit Administration awarded WMATA more than
72 $4 million to purchase new electric buses and charging equipment and to make infrastructure
73 improvements. But at this point Metro has one electric bus and is planning to acquire one dozen
74 more for a two-year pilot to study electrification even though other cities already have electric
75 buses in operation and the DC Circulator is already partially electrified.
76 (9) WMATA is currently installing electric charging equipment at two D.C. bus
77 garages Bladensburg and the Northern Bus Barn so the infrastructure will be in place soon
78 for WMATA bus electrification.
79 Sec. 3. It is the sense of the Council that:
80 (1) WMATA must commit to electrifying its fleet on a schedule that meets
81 preferably exceeds the deadlines in the Clean Energy DC Act, by agreeing to electrifying at
82 least 50 percent of its bus fleet by 2030, 75 percent by 2035, 90 percent by 2040, and 100 percent
83 by 2045.
84 (2) WMATAs current contract for 542 fossil fuel buses with New Flyer to be
85 delivered by 2023 should be the last time Metro purchases fossil fuel buses or, ideally, it
86 should be converted to electric bus purchases. Going forward, WMATA must buy only electric
87 buses, meaning that Metro's entire fleet would be fully electric by 2038 if the 542 New Flyer
88 buses are delivered on time and are in use for no more than 15 years.
89 (3) Any future upgrades to WMATA bus garages or fueling infrastructure must
90 include electric bus ready designs.
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91 (4) WMATA should prioritize introducing electric buses on routes servicing low-
92 and moderate-income neighborhoods and environmental justice communities that have been
93 disproportionately burdened by pollution.
94 (5) WMATA should cease investment in diesel and compressed natural gas
95 fueling infrastructure that risks becoming a stranded asset, including abandoning current plans to
96 install compressed natural gas fueling apparatus at the Shepherd Parkway Bus Division in
97 Southwest D.C.
98 (6) When WMATA finishes refurbishing its Northern Bus Garage on 14th Street
99 NW, it should no longer house diesel buses there, running only electric buses at that site.
100 (7) WMATA must publicly release a bus electrification plan as soon as possible.
101 As part of that plan, WMATA should commit to releasing an annual progress report identifying
102 milestones, challenges, and ongoing actions that facilitate rapid electrification.
103 (8) WMATA should immediately consult with PEPCO, if it has not already done
104 so, to evaluate the local distribution grid around its bus garages to determine what changes and
105 upgrades will be necessary to support charging an electric fleet.
106 (9) WMATA should immediately apply for applicable federal funding for use in
107 2022, building on the more than $4 million grant award it received in fiscal year 2020.
108 (10) WMATA should substantially shorten its planned two-year pilot project with
109 a dozen electric buses, and begin it as soon as possible.
110 Sec. 4. The Council shall transmit a copy of this resolution to the Washington
111 Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and the Mayor.
112 Sec. 5. This resolution shall take effect upon the first date of publication in the DC
113 Register.
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