Santa Clarita Introduces Hydrogen-Powered Public Transit Buses

City aims to transition entire fleet to zero-emission vehicles by 2040

Mar. 31, 2026 at 10:22pm

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The city of Santa Clarita's Transit Division has received seven new hydrogen fuel cell buses, marking the start of a gradual shift from battery-electric to hydrogen-powered public transportation. The new buses can be recharged in just 10-15 minutes, significantly faster than the few hours required for the older battery-electric models.

Why it matters

Santa Clarita's move to hydrogen-powered buses is part of a broader effort to reduce the carbon footprint of its public transit system and work towards a zero-emission fleet by 2040. Hydrogen fuel cell technology offers advantages in terms of faster refueling times compared to battery-electric buses, which could help improve operational efficiency for the city's transit network.

The details

The seven new hydrogen fuel cell buses are 40-feet long and use batteries that are charged by the on-board hydrogen fuel cell, which generates electricity from hydrogen gas. This allows the buses to be refueled much more quickly than the older battery-electric models that require several hours of charging. The city plans to continue replacing retiring buses with hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, with three more buses expected to arrive in the next 18 months.

  • The seven new hydrogen buses were delivered to Santa Clarita earlier this month.
  • The city's Transit Division ordered the new buses back in 2024, with a 18-24 month manufacturing timeline.
  • The Santa Clarita City Council recently approved the purchase of three additional hydrogen buses, expected to arrive in the next 18 months.

The players

Adrian Aguilar

A transit manager for the city of Santa Clarita who provided details on the new hydrogen bus initiative.

Santa Clarita Transit Division

The city's public transportation agency that is overseeing the transition to hydrogen-powered buses.

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What they’re saying

“We looked at how far a bus typically travels in a day, we looked at the length of our routes and how, how many miles our buses operate … when I say how long they operate. I mean, both in terms of miles and in terms of hours … so we looked at that data, and those, and we use that data as our baseline.”

— Adrian Aguilar, Transit Manager

“The city has a replacement schedule where, where we are, we're replacing buses (because) the useful life of a bus is 12 years. So, we're replacing 1/12th of our fleet every year.”

— Adrian Aguilar, Transit Manager

What’s next

The city plans to continue replacing retiring buses with hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, with three more buses expected to arrive in the next 18 months.

The takeaway

Santa Clarita's transition to hydrogen-powered public transit buses represents a significant step towards reducing the environmental impact of its transportation network. The faster refueling times of the new hydrogen buses compared to battery-electric models could also help improve operational efficiency for the city's transit system as it works towards a zero-emission fleet by 2040.