Indiana University Bloomington (IUB) has been accepted into the Clean Bus Planning Award (CBPA) program, which will aid the campus in achieving its bus fleet decarbonization goals as outlined in the IU Climate Action Plan.
The CBPA program, managed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and funded by the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, connects transit and bus fleets with technical experts to support the transition to low-emission bus technologies such as electric, hybrid, and hydrogen-powered vehicles. In addition to technical planning, participating fleets receive free deployment assistance from NREL upon completion of their transition plans.
Justin VanLeeuwen, Director of Campus Bus Service, expressed his enthusiasm, stating, "I’m looking forward to navigating this process and reviewing the final analysis that will be presented to us sometime in the spring. The information we obtain through the fleet analysis will be instrumental in helping Campus Bus Service chart a path forward."
As a participant in the program, IUB will receive tailored plans and recommendations that meet the campus’s specific transportation needs. These transition plans will cover various topics, including existing fleet baseline analysis, vehicle decarbonization feasibility, infrastructure assessment and optimization, procurement and project staging, financial analysis, and emissions modeling.
“Among the hurdles in decarbonizing transit systems, the impact on routing and operating hours are some of the most challenging to overcome. I’m excited that IU will have access to these expert resources to help us critically address these issues. Acceptance into the program is a testament to IU's proactive efforts to reduce its carbon footprint,” said Jessica Davis, IU’s Chief Sustainability Officer.