Fleet Electrification Transition Plan
Everett, WA
Planning Communities worked with Everett Transit to develop a Fleet Electrification Transition Plan for its standard bus fleet and paratransit van fleet. Everett Transit is the public transportation service provider for the City of Everett, Washington. Everett Transit operates 9 fixed routes and paratransit services that serve residents and employees across a 34-square mile service area. Everett Transit had already taken the initial steps toward fleet electrification, with the first battery electric buses (BEBs) put into service in 2018 and efforts since that time to add BEBs into service; install charging infrastructure at the Operations Center, and plan for inductive chargers to be installed at multiple transit stations and stops. The City of Everett has access to affordable, clean electricity provided by the Snohomish County Public Utility District's hydro-electric, wind and solar energy production, enhancing the emissions reduction benefits of plans to continue transition of the bus fleet and begin transition of the paratransit fleet to electric vehicles.
Everett is located along the Puget Sound in Washington’s Puget Trough ecoregion. The City is bounded by the Puget Sound to the west and the Snohomish River to the east. The Puget Trough region runs the length of Washington between the Cascade Mountains to the east and the Olympic Mountains and Willapa Hills to the west and is densely populated. Puget Sound is an important estuary with nearshore and deepwater habitats that provide a home for orcas, porpoises, harbor seals, and salmon. Upland grasslands and forests also support rare species; however, habitats are highly fragmented given the high population density in the region, which is home to more than 75 percent of the state’s population. Coastal habitats face a number of threats, including land use change, sea level rise, extreme weather, and ocean acidification. Fleet electrification is a critical step in reducing emissions and limiting further damage to these habitats.
Key tasks for this project included a fleet assessment and long-term fleet management plan, funding analysis for transition and implementation, policy and legislation impact analysis, a detailed evaluation of current and future facilities, utility and energy partners assessment, workforce analysis, and equity and resilience analysis. Social context and demographics were examined using two tools: the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) and the USDOT Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool developed to support the federal Justice 40 initiative. Everett Transit’s fixed route services are often densest in areas with higher social vulnerability.
Planning Communities developed a transition plan in accordance with Federal Transit Administration guidance and required elements that ensure these vehicles are replaced in a manner consistent with the agency's vision for the future and that of the City overall as reflected in documents such as the City's Climate Action Plan. The Fleet Electrification Transition Plan will also help support future applications for funding, including the FTA Low- and No-Emission and Bus and Bus Facilities grant programs and the Washington State DOT Green Transportation Capital Grant Program.