Alternative Fuels
Transit agencies are increasingly looking to alternatives to traditional fuels to lower emissions and improve the air quality and environment. The resources in this topic guide will assist them with planning, decisionmaking and funding.
National RTAP Resources
National RTAP/FTA Low No Emissions Program Grant Writing webinar, 2018
National RTAP Used Oil Recycling: Getting Extra Mileage Out of Your Motor Oil technical brief, 2019
National RTAP Rural Transit Zero-Emission Vehicle Deployments: Collaborating with your Electric Utility webinar, 2019
National RTAP Zero Emission Transition Twitter chat, 2019
FTA Resources
FTA's Low or No Emission Vehicle Program 5339(c) webpage includes information on the FTA grant and technical assistance webinars and reports
FTA’s Zero-Emission Bus Evaluation Results: King County Metro Battery Electric Buses evaluation compared three electric buses to a hybrid fleet, diesel fleet, and trolley fleet, 2018
Additional Resources
Alternative Fuels Data Center's Public Transit web page shows availability of different types of alternative fuel public transit vehicles, and provides case studies, videos, and publications
American Public Transportation Association's (APTA) Public Transit Leading in Transition to Clean Technology, 2019
Carnegie Mellon University's Which Alternative Fuel Technology is Best for Transit Buses, 2017
Drive to Zero's Zero-Emission Technology Inventory is an interactive online resource for commercially available offerings of zero-emission vehicles
Eastern Transportation Knowledge Network's (ETKN) Transportation Sustainability Guide provides a number of resources on fuels and emissions
Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) State and Local Transportation Resources webpage contains regulations, guidance and calculators
Frontier Group, PIRG and Environment America’s Electric Buses Clean Transportation for Healthier Neighborhoods and Cleaner Air, 2018
ICF International's Small System Alternative Fuel Strategies Guidance Document, 2017
International Council on Clean Transportation's Update on electric vehicle costs in the United States through 2030
National Association of Fleet Administrators's (NAFA) The Changing Fuels Market: What Alternative Fuel Vehicles Mean for Fleets, 2019
National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL) On-Road Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles Evaluation, Technology Maintenance Readiness Guide for Zero-Emission Buses, and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Driving and Fueling Behavior, 2019 and bus evaluation publications
Propane Education & Research Council's Propane Autogas Roadmap and article in Busride: Considering Refueling with Propane Autogas or Recharging with Electric? Here’s What to Know, 2019
TCRP's Battery Electric Buses—State of the Practice, 2018
US Department of Energy's (DOE) Alternative Fuels Data Center Public Transit Vehicles webpage provides statistics, case studies, reports, videos and presentations
US PIRG's Paying for Electric Buses provides case studies of how agencies have funded electric buses and equations to calculate purchase, financing, and operational costs, 2019
Thank you to the Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) for assistance in selection of resources for this topic guide.
Updated October 16, 2020