SEPTA GM/CEO Joins White House Roundtable on Clean Buses
February 12, 2024
On Wednesday, February 7, 2024 - the White House and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) in coordination with the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) convened a roundtable discussion focused on ensuring adequate U.S. manufacturing capacity to build clean transit buses at the scale and pace needed to meet market demand and achieve national climate and equity goals.
The roundtable included approximately 60 representatives from U.S. transit agencies - including SEPTA General Manager/CEO Leslie Richards - bus manufacturers, component suppliers, labor unions, federal agencies, and other stakeholders.
The recent pandemic severely impacted the financial viability and competitiveness of U.S. bus manufacturing - leaving only two major manufacturers in the market. Thanks to support from the Biden-Harris Administration - the industry is working diligently to overcome these challenges.
To help address immediate cash-flow shortages - APTA’s Bus Manufacturing Task Force recommends that transit agencies incorporate three changes in bus contracts: price adjustments, progress payments, and use of price indices. Other immediate actions that the Task Force recommends include developing a set of bus procurement best practices and exploring ways to reduce customization in bus design which can increase costs and delay the procurement cycle.
Transit agencies procure an average of 4,500 heavy duty buses annually and typically pay for buses upon delivery - which can be 24 months or longer from the time an order is placed. Zero Emission Buses are more expensive than diesel buses and require a significantly larger cash outlay to support manufacturing.
The recommendations developed by APTA’s Bus Manufacturing Task Force will help ensure U.S. capacity to manufacture and deliver clean buses at the scale and pace needed to meet market demands and achieve national climate and equity goals while reducing costs for manufacturers and transit agencies.
