The Los Angeles and Long Beach Ports have each provided $30 million through the Clean Truck Fee (CTF). The CTF collects $10 for each twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) from cargo owners entering or exiting the San Pedro Bay ports complex. The combined funding of $60 million will be available through the California Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Incentive Project (HVIP) as vouchers for purchasing zero-emission drayage trucks at the San Pedro Bay ports complex.
HVIP is a critical program aimed at helping the San Pedro Bay ports complex achieve its goal of having 100 percent zero-emission drayage trucks by 2035. This ambitious target is outlined in the San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan. Utilizing the CTF to assist agencies in acquiring zero-emission trucks will expedite the transition to a fully zero-emission fleet.
Additional funding for the HVIP voucher program, provided by the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach, will increase the maximum voucher amount to $250,000 per truck. The enhancements offered by the ports will boost the standard HVIP drayage truck voucher of $150,000 by an additional $100,000 per truck for fleets with ten or fewer trucks and by $75,000 per truck for fleets with more than ten trucks. This added funding will pave the way for 800 new zero-emission trucks to begin servicing the ports.
Launched in 2009 by the California Air Resources Board, HVIP is part of California Climate Investments, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve public health and environmental standards. Truck purchasers must meet specific requirements to receive funding assistance.
The HVIP is crucial for the ports’ long-term environmental goals, and it is imperative that the vouchers provided for purchasing zero-emission drayage trucks are utilized effectively at the San Pedro Bay ports complex. The requirements for purchasers are designed to ensure that the funding assistance aligns with the objectives set at the Port of Los Angeles.
Purchasers must agree to several terms to receive an HVIP voucher for a new zero-emission truck. They must register the new truck with the San Pedro Bay Ports’ Port Drayage Truck Registry and comply with the registry’s insurance guidelines. The truck must maintain its registry status for three years after redeeming the voucher.
Additional requirements depend on the truck’s usage. After redeeming a voucher, the new truck must start operating at either the Port of Los Angeles or the Port of Long Beach within 60 days of delivery. It must then maintain service to the San Pedro Bay ports complex for at least three years, completing at least 50 trips annually. The California HVIP website defines one trip as a single-loaded gate entry to a port terminal.
“The reason I would want to switch to electric is to create a better future for my kids with less smog in the air,” said Alex Nino, a truck driver for Nino Trucking Family Business, on the California HVIP website’s homepage. “We all know how bad the smog is, especially in California, and I believe that making this switch could help reduce it.”
The Los Angeles and Long Beach Ports are committed to improving air quality in and around the harbor. The HVIP voucher program is just one of several strategies implemented through their joint Clean Air Action Plan. The deployment of hundreds of new zero-emission trucks through HVIP vouchers will accelerate the ports’ efforts to achieve clean air goals and reduce greenhouse gases to 80 percent below current levels.
