Responding to California’s Clean Transit Initiative, our local Humboldt Transit Authority (HTA) has begun a required transition to a zero-emission transit fleet. HTA will soon receive 11 New Flyer Xcelsior CHARGE FC™ fuel cell electric buses and construct a hydrogen fueling station on their corporation yard to fuel them. HTA will also work with the City of Eureka to construct the Eureka Regional Transit and Housing Center—the EaRTH Center—in downtown Eureka. The Schatz Center worked with HTA to submit the grant proposal that funded this project and will work as HTA’s owner’s engineer as the project progresses. California’s Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program awarded HTA $39M for this work.
New bus service is also part of the project. HTA is initiating a new service — the Redwood Express — from Eureka to Ukiah and back. The new service will allow transit riders to connect to Mendocino Transit and then on to the SMART train, connecting to San Francisco and other Bay Area locations. The route to Ukiah and back is an exceptionally demanding route for a 40-foot transit bus and existing fuel cell buses were unable to complete the route on one tank of hydrogen fuel. HTA and Schatz worked with New Flyer on a new bus design with a larger fuel cell, a larger battery, a more powerful traction motor, and additional fuel storage. This new bus has a 370-mile range and will comfortably make the Redwood Express run.
HTA’s pilot fuel cell bus will arrive early in spring 2025 and be fueled at a temporary hydrogen fueler installed by Linde, an international gas supply company. The pilot bus will undergo an extensive testing program designed and overseen by the Schatz Center. Once certified, it will begin serving passengers on HTA’s Trinidad-to-Scotia and Redwood Express routes. The remaining 10 buses and the permanent hydrogen fueling station are planned for delivery and completion in 2026.