Press Release: SolTrans Breaks Ground on Electrification Infrastructure

New Release
April 11, 2023

Solano County, CA-  Wednesday, April 12, 2023, at 10 a.m. Solano County Transit’s (SolTrans) Board of Directors, with Congressman John Garamendi, and project partners PG&E, WSP, and Patriot Construction will break ground on the construction of the Electrification Infrastructure at the SolTrans Operations and Maintenance Facility in Vallejo, CA. This groundbreaking kicks off the agency’s plan to transition to all 100% zero-emission buses.

SolTrans is in the process of transitioning the existing fleet of diesel, hybrid diesel, and CNG buses to an all-electric fleet to meet the California Innovative Clean Transit 2040 regulation. The Innovative Clean Transit regulation is part of a statewide effort to reduce emissions from the transportation sector, which accounts for 40 percent of climate-changing gas emissions and 80-90 percent of smog-forming pollutants.

“SolTrans has reached its onsite charging capacity with the 5 all-electric buses already in service, this project is imperative in helping us fully electrify the rest of our fleet. This project will lay the foundation to help SolTrans reduce pollution and provide cleaner transportation options for the people of Solano County.” Said Pat Carr, General Service Manager, and Electrification Infrastructure Project Manager.

In 2020 the SolTrans Board authorized Staff to begin working with engineering and design firm  WSP  to design a depot charging infrastructure to fully electrify the SolTrans fleet. Patriot Construction and PG&E are working together to bring the design to fruition. Construction will begin in April 2023 and is scheduled to be completed in April 2024. SolTrans has secured much of the funding for the electrical infrastructure to support a zero-emission fleet with the help of Federal and local funding.

Solano County Transit (SolTrans) has been the public transportation provider for south Solano County since July 2011. SolTrans provides local and SolanoExpress fixed routes and complementary paratransit. The agency is a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) governed by a six-member Board of Directors, composed of two representatives from the cities of Benicia and Vallejo, Solano County’s representative on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), and a representative from the Solano Transportation Authority.

###