Board Approves CARB Bus Exemptions as $400M Electrification Gap Looms

The SFMTA board voted unanimously to seek five years of exemptions from California's zero-emission bus mandate, acknowledging that even one of North America's greenest transit fleets can't close a $400 million funding gap fast enough to comply. Elsewhere, a plan to connect all 249 San Francisco schools to the bike network drew enthusiastic support from advocates — and pointed questions from board members about whether the city's most vulnerable students would be left waiting.

• Board approves CARB zero-emission bus exemptions through 2031, citing $400M compliance gap and only $79M of $470M in federal grants awarded since 2019
• Plan to connect all 249 schools to bike network launched, but only 15% currently connected and advocates warn a 10-year timeline is far too slow
• Rail ridership up 13% year-over-year as Transit Division saves $20.5M with no service cuts
• Federal surface transportation funding expires this month, putting roughly $180M in annual SFMTA funding at risk
• Board honors departing Director Mike Chen as he transitions to the Planning Commission

The basics: California's Innovative Clean Transit regulation requires transit agencies to purchase 100% zero-emission buses starting in 2029 and achieve fully zero-emission fleets by 2040. The SFMTA board voted 7-0 to authorize staff to seek annual financial hardship exemptions from the California Air Resources Board for 2027 through 2031.