SIMPLIFYING Zero-Emission Transit Bus Procurement: Lessons from Statewide Contracts
White Papers

Public transportation employees are continuously stretched thin in many of their affairs, including the procurement of new vehicles due to limited resources and bandwidth. Contract development using federal guidelines for the purchase of new vehicles is time and resource demanding, and with advances in zero emission bus technology, the time and effort required to understand these new technologies further attenuate resources. Recognizing the stress of new zero-emission bus procurement on transit operations, the centralized procurement departments of four states have stepped in to help. California’s Department of General Services (DGS), Georgia’s Department of Administrative Services (DOAS), Virginia’s Department of General Services (DGS) and Washington State’s Department of Enterprise Services (DES) are leaders in the effort to alleviate the encumbrance of contract development as the first to create state statewide contracts for the purchase of zero-emission vehicles.

This document shares the unique experiences of each state and the processes they underwent to achieve a state-wide zero emission bus contract. It is intended to provide perspective, methods to success, and lessons to learn for states interested in initiating their own statewide contracts. An analysis of the Federal Transit Administration guidelines and Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act found statewide contracts eligible for use by transit agencies across the country.

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