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FAIRFIELD — The city’s first of three 35-foot Gillig Battery-Electric, Zero-Emission buses will make its debut at 11 a.m. Aug. 29 at the Fairfield Transportation Center, 2000 Cadenasso Drive.
It marks FAST’s first zero-emission transit vehicle as part of an effort to transition to 100% zero-emission fleet by 2040.
In 2017, FAST was awarded $1.2 million to purchase zero-emission buses through the Federal Transit Administration’s Bus and Bus Facilities Competitive Program. In 2022, FAST was awarded another $12 million through the same program for battery-electric buses, infrastructure and workforce development.
The locally manufactured 35-foot Gillig Battery Electric bus is the first of eight battery-electric buses.
In 2016, the Fairfield City Council adopted the FAST Alternative Fuels and Fleet Replacement Policy, which was completed in anticipation of the Innovative Clean Transit regulation.
This regulation, adopted by the California Air Resources Board, requires fully zero-emission transit fleets by 2040. FAST’s path to a zero-emission fleet is guided by the city of Fairfield’s Corporation Yard Electrification Buildout Plan Report, which was completed in April.
The report outlines a buildout and implementation plan that identifies available technology, infrastructure needs, funding and maintenance requirements that will be key for a successful transition to zero-emission.
After extensive transit driver and fleet staff training is completed to safely operate the new battery-electric buses, the community will see and be able to ride FAST’s new Gillig BEB’s beginning in mid- to late-September 2024.
Gillig was founded in 1890 as a carriage and wagon shop in San Francisco. The business gradually evolved into a manufacturer of car bodies, hearses, trucks and early model buses.
The first school bus from Gillig was built in 1932.
For more information on FAST services, visit www.fasttransit.org.