For the thousands who commute the 150-mile round trip from Santa Maria to Goleta and Santa Barbara – the only difference they'll notice is the quieter ride.
A new Clean Air Express bus replaces the old diesel bus on the weekday commuter route, eliminating more than 50 tons of CO2 annually - says Scott Spaulding, Santa Barbara County’s Rail and Transit Director.
"What's very new on the market is a charter style bus that is battery electric and zero emission. There's only three operations in the nation, we happen to be one of them," he told KCLU.
The Clean Air Express is a weekday commuter bus service operated by SBCAG and funded by Measure A, Santa Barbara County’s Transportation Sales Tax measure.
It serves residents of Lompoc, Santa Maria, Buellton, Solvang, and adjacent unincorporated areas in North Santa Barbara County commuting to jobs in Goleta and Santa Barbara.
Clean Air Express features a fleet of 17 charter-style buses.
The service currently operates a reduced schedule due to COVID-19, operating 18 one-way trips each weekday, down from 26.
The Clean Air Express serves an average of 7,000 riders per month.
The service eliminates over 400,000 vehicle miles traveled from the County’s roads every month, helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the region.
In the future, we’ll be seeing more of these buses on our local roads as the same model has been ordered for the Ventura County Transport Commission Coastal Express - arriving in around a year’s time.
