1. The focus is on how to make zero-emission fleets work under challenging political conditions
Transit agencies across the U.S. have moved beyond debating the value of zero-emission bus operations. Now, the question is how to make them work with tighter budgets than expected, and changing federal priorities.
The number of zero-emission buses in the U.S. has grown steadily in recent years, but now funding uncertainty affects every decision. Agencies looking to keep electrifying must justify each step with a clear business case that considers operating costs, local conditions, energy prices and long-term fleet value. California continues to lead in enforcing regulations. The Innovative Clean Transit (ICT) rule requires large operators to buy 50% zero-emission buses from 2026 to 2028, and 100% of new purchases from 2029. This shift raises new expectations for how agencies structure zero-emission bus operations, particularly under tightening budgets.
This situation was clear at Clean Buses US in San Francisco, where the mood was practical. Funding is less predictable; there are more technology options, and agencies are working to create a transition plan that can handle political changes. It was clear that buying buses is just the beginning. The main challenge is running zero-emission fleets reliably and cost-effectively every day. From Tenix’s perspective, based on years of working with Scandinavian operators, the U.S. discussion is now focused on “how do we build U.S. zero-emission bus operations that work under financial pressure and real-world conditions?” The answer depends on hardware, data, software, and daily routines.
2. The U.S. Technology mix: why hydrogen plays a larger role than in Europe
Against this backdrop, discussions at Clean Buses US centered around practical technology choices. Battery-electric buses still make up a significant share of zero-emission deployments in the U.S., but hydrogen is gaining more attention than in Europe. The reason is largely down to geography and duty cycle. Many U.S. agencies operate long routes, extreme climates, and large service areas where today’s battery ranges are tested. Several speakers highlighted the fact that hydrogen offers a way to cover long blocks without redesigning routes or adding layover charging. It is seen as a complement to electric battery vehicles, not an alternative.
At the same time, the industry recognizes that battery-electric is improving quickly. Range is increasing, charging power is rising, and new OEMs are entering the market. Yet concerns remain around performance. Agencies spoke openly about range variability, high power requirements, and uncertainty around battery lifespan, all factors that drive interest in a mixed fleet.
What stood out in San Francisco was a common understanding that each technology has a role. The question is how to deploy them where they make sense.
From Tenix’s perspective, the technology mix matters far less than the ability to operate it well. Whether an agency runs BEB, FCEB, or a combination, the challenge remains to effectively manage range, charging schedules, power demand, and vehicle readiness in a way that ensures service reliability.
3. What operators actually worry about
While the technology debate gets the headlines, the conversations in San Francisco were anchored in daily operational concerns. Agencies focused on range, power, and battery health. Across all three areas, the message was that operators need visibility to run reliable zero-emission bus operations reliably.”
Range and state of charge
Operators need confidence that a bus will complete its route under real conditions, not just under ideal test assumptions. Gradients, weather, traffic, and HVAC loads all affect usable range. Several agencies noted that these variations force them to build in large buffers, which can reduce operational efficiency.
Power availability
Many depots face grid constraints, high demand charges, or limited room for expansion. Agencies want clarity on how much power they need and how to avoid costly peaks. This becomes even more important as charging strategies shift from overnight-only to a mix of overnight and opportunity charging.
Battery risk
Agencies are asking for better insight into battery condition: degradation patterns, early performance drift, and any safety-related anomalies. They want problems identified early, not discovered through failures or unplanned downtime.
Across all three areas, the message was that operators need visibility and hardware alone cannot provide it. They need reliable data, early warnings, and an operational overview that connects vehicles, chargers, routes, and depot constraints.
At Tenix, we have worked with operators in Scandinavia to manage these risks through integrated monitoring and decision-making support tools that track range, power demand, and battery health in one place. The result is fewer surprises and more predictable service. The same approach can help U.S. agencies scale with confidence.
4. Integration: the missing layer in U.S. electrification
A clear message from Clean Buses US was that agencies need their systems to work together. Vehicles, chargers, depot upgrades, and planning tools are being added quickly, but often as standalone components. As Bhavin Khatri from the San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Authority noted, the goal is a setup where route planning, depot management, charge management, and fleet operations share the same operational picture. Most agencies are still some way from achieving this.
Planning and scheduling still rely on estimates
Many planning tools were built for diesel fleets and do not incorporate real battery behavior, charging constraints, or power limits. This creates a gap between the timetable and what the electric fleet can reliably deliver.
Depot systems are modernizing, but not in a coordinated way
Chargers, power systems, and facility tools often come from different vendors, each with its own interface. Without a unified view, agencies struggle to understand overall depot health and charging performance. This makes it important to work with specialist software providers who can align all components and optimize depot and charging operations as a whole.
The control room feels the impact most
Dispatchers need to know which buses are ready, which chargers are available, and where risks are emerging. Today this information is scattered across multiple screens, making it difficult to act quickly when something unexpected happens.
As fleets grow, this fragmentation becomes a bottleneck for stable zero-emission bus operations. It raises operating costs, increases reserve requirements, and creates more opportunities for service disruption. At Tenix, we see this as a significant opportunity for improvement. Across Scandinavia, operators use integrated systems that connect planning tools, depot operations, charging, and real-time fleet status. The fleet behaves as a system rather than a collection of assets. This makes electric operations more predictable and scalable.
5. Lessons from Norway and Europe for U.S. agencies
European operators have already gone through many of the growing pains U.S. agencies are now facing. Several lessons stand out.
Start with operations, not vehicles
Successful projects defined service needs first and built technology choices around them. This prevented depots and charging layouts that worked on paper but struggled under real timetables.
Design for the toughest days
Cold weather, power constraints, or demanding duty cycles all test fleet performance. Planning around worst-case scenarios reduced emergency interventions and improved day-to-day reliability.
Make battery and charger data part of fleet management
In Europe, battery health is monitored continuously. Degradation trends and charging anomalies are treated as operational priorities, not engineering curiosities. This supports better planning, warranty discussions, and mid-life decisions.
Standardise where possible
As fleets expanded, operators aligned processes, data interfaces, and routines across depots. This made scaling easier and reduced training burden.
These practices come from operators who run electric fleets at scale in demanding environments. The same principles can support U.S. agencies as they move from pilots to long-term operations.
6. Funding, regulation and the risk of getting stuck with inefficient operations
With federal priorities shifting and long-term funding less certain, US transit agencies are being forced to take a more cautious and financially disciplined aproach to zero-emission planning. The agencies that continue electrifying now do so because the business case holds for their local conditions, not because external incentives guarantee it. Every procurement must demonstrate operational benefit, cost stability and resilience to political change.
Regulation still provides a clear direction of travel, particularly in states like California, but mandates alone do not solve the economic challenge. Agencies must plan investments carefully, knowing that future support may not look like the past decade. In this environment, the next few procurement cycles will shape zero-emission operations for years to come. The decisions made now around infrastructure, technology mix, and operating models will be difficult to unwind later.
This creates a moment of opportunity, but also a real risk: agencies could lock in systems that are expensive to run, hard to scale, or misaligned with daily service needs.
One risk is designing depots around maximum capacity rather than around real operations. If charger placement or traffic flow does not match the timetable, depots become bottlenecks, and these issues are difficult to fix later.
Another risk is underestimating the long-term operating cost of zero-emission bus operations. Tariffs, demand charges, and power availability all influence cost. Without a strategy to manage charging peaks and optimize usage, agencies can lock in higher operating expenses than necessary.
A third risk is treating digital systems as secondary. Vehicles and chargers generate critical operational data. If this data remains siloed, agencies lose the ability to manage availability, detect technical issues early, or optimize charging.
From Tenix’s perspective, the objective is not only to electrify, but to build a stable and predictable zero-emission system. Hardware is only part of that picture. The operating model around it is what delivers long-term value.
7. A practical playbook for U.S transit agencies
As agencies scale up zero-emission operations, a few practical steps make the transition smoother.
1. Define service needs before choosing technology.
Align fleet mix with real duty cycles, climates, and route profiles.
2. Align depot design with the timetable.
Plan charger locations and power distribution around how vehicles actually move.
3. Establish a clear charging strategy.
Manage when buses charge and how demand peaks are controlled.
4. Treat battery and charger monitoring as daily tasks.
Visibility reduces risk and supports long-term planning.
5. Build an integrated operational view.
Connect planning, depot systems, charging, and real-time fleet data.
6. Train teams for a new operational rhythm.
Electric fleets require more coordination and more proactive monitoring.
7. Optimise continuously.
Charging schedules, operational assumptions, and energy contracts should be reviewed regularly, not annually.
For us at Tenix, this is what defines a successful zero-emission operation: a fleet built around real service needs, supported by integrated systems and clear routines. When agencies combine these elements, electrification becomes more predictable, more efficient, and easier to scale.
