This spring, the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee (MSRC) awarded more than $1.9 million for six innovative projects that will deliver zero-emission on demand, flexible services to communities within the South Coast region. These projects will bring technology-enabled, shared mobility strategies to fill the gap between traditional “fixed-route” transit and “ride hailing technology” to increase transportation options for residents.

The zero-emission vehicles will accommodate at least four passengers per vehicle (in addition to the driver). The vehicles must also comply with applicable Americans with Disabilities Act, Department of Transportation, and Department of Motor Vehicles requirements.

The six funded projects include:

OmniRide Bloomington Microtransit Service Expansion (Omnitrans) – Omnitrans will purchase two zero-emission vans to increase the service hours and offer service on Sundays.

Circuit Transit Shared Mobility (City of Seal Beach) – The City will partner with Circuit Transit to deploy three Waev GEM e6 vehicles to transport residents and tourists to many of the City’s most visited areas including the pier, the beach, City Hall, and Main Street.

Circuit Transit Rideshare Program (City of Huntington Beach) – The City will expand its existing microtransit service area to transport passengers who request a ride through their app.

Old Towne Orange Microtransit Service (Anaheim Transportation Network) – ATN, in partnership with the City of Orange, will launch a new on-demand microtransit service utilizing 10 Waev GEM e6 zero-emission vehicles around a one-mile radius of the Old Towne Orange Plaza.

GTrans Microtransit Service (City of Gardena) – The City will purchase two zero-emission vehicles to add to its current fleet and deploy a new technology platform to provide on-demand trips within defined service zones.

Circuit Transit Mobility Expansion Program (City of Long Beach) – The City will add six new Waev GEM e6 zero-emission vehicles to connect the Downtown and Belmont Shore zones into one cohesive coverage area.

With these projects, the MSRC aims to target communities that will most directly benefit from this type of mobility opportunity. This includes areas where microtransit can be directly integrated into other transit systems – complementing transit in areas where deploying traditional fixed-route service would not be ideal – as well as areas where traditional fixed-route transit does not currently meet the needs of
residents. Several of these projects will launch later this year.

Under AB 2766, a $4 per vehicle surcharge is received on annual registration fees, which is distributed to South Coast AQMD for programs, monitoring, enforcement, and technical studies to help reduce air pollution. Thirty cents of every dollar collected is placed in a discretionary account to implement or monitor programs to reduce motor vehicle air pollution. To determine which projects are funded by the Discretionary Fund, the MSRC was created to evaluate programs and make final recommendations to the South Coast AQMD Governing Board.

For more information on the MSRC, visit http://www.cleantransportationfunding.org.