Placer County is moving forward with plans to modernize its public transit fleet after the Board of Supervisors approved the purchase of 16 new buses, including four electric vehicles for the Truckee-Tahoe region. The decision aims to improve service reliability, lower vehicle emissions, and support ongoing growth in both Placer County Transit (PCT) and Tahoe Truckee Area Regional Transit (TART).
Currently, the Department of Public Works operates 45 buses across PCT and TART. These vehicles are replaced when they exceed their useful life or become too costly to maintain. Since 2015, Placer County has replaced 39 buses that had reached this threshold and added one expansion bus for TART.
The latest approval will see 14 older buses replaced and an expansion of the PCT Dial-A-Ride fleet. The total cost for these new vehicles is approximately $12.7 million. The breakdown includes four 25-foot transit buses replacing models from 2008–2015 and two additional 25-foot buses for expanding Dial-A-Ride services; four 35-foot transit buses replacing fixed-route vehicles from 2015; two compressed natural gas (CNG) transit buses replacing TART models from 2009–2015; and four battery electric transit buses replacing TART models from 2015–2017.
“These replacements will improve service quality and operational efficiency while advancing the county’s transition toward cleaner, lower-emission vehicles,” said Placer County Transit Manager Jaime Wright. “TART’s purchase of four electric buses will be a part of a pilot program to be completed in the Truckee and North Tahoe region to determine the viability of a fully electric fleet.”
The move aligns with state requirements set by the California Air Resources Board’s Innovative Clean Transit Regulation, which mandates that starting in 2026 at least a quarter of new bus purchases must be zero-emission vehicles—a percentage that rises to all purchases by 2029.
Funding for these purchases comes entirely from external sources such as federal grants, state programs like Senate Bill 1 (State of Good Repair), local transportation funds, Senate Bill 125 (Transit Program), Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program funding, as well as an affordable housing grant related to the Meadow View Affordable Housing project in Martis Valley. There will be no impact on Placer County’s general fund.
In addition to approving bus acquisitions, supervisors authorized budget increases for both PCT ($1.6 million) and TART ($8 million) for the coming fiscal year.
More information about Placer County’s transit programs can be found at https://placercountytransit.com/. Details about Tahoe Truckee Area Regional Transit are available at https://tahoetruckeetransit.com/.
