AC Transit and City of Berkeley Roll Out Zero-Emission Fuel-Cell Coaches and San Pablo Avenue Signal Priority

Fleet engineers with the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit), transportation planners at the City of Berkeley, and the Alameda County Transportation Commission have placed an expanded cohort of zero-emission hydrogen fuel-cell electric buses into daily service along the San Pablo Avenue corridor this October. Reviewed by the AC Transit Board of Directors and Berkeley Transportation and Infrastructure Commission in October 2026, the deployment pairs clean-air propulsion with upgraded automated Transit Signal Priority (TSP) intersections serving Line 72, Line 72M, and Line 72R Rapid riders.

Powered by onboard proton-exchange membrane fuel cells fueled with green hydrogen at AC Transit's Emeryville and East Oakland maintenance divisions, the forty-foot coaches emit zero tailpipe particulate matter or nitrogen oxides—producing only warm water vapor while achieving a 300-mile operating range between refuelings. Public health researchers at UC Berkeley and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District noted that eliminating diesel bus exhaust along densely populated corridors in West Berkeley, Emeryville, and North Oakland directly benefits neighborhoods bordering Interstate 80.

To keep buses moving reliably during peak autumn university and downtown commute hours, municipal traffic engineers have synchronized optical and GPS signal transponders at signalized intersections along San Pablo Avenue between University Avenue, Gilman Street, and Ashby Avenue. When a bus approaches an intersection running behind schedule, the traffic controller extends the green phase by several seconds or truncates cross-street red intervals, reducing passenger wait times and bus bunching.

East Bay riders can track zero-emission coach assignments in real time using the AC Transit Official mobile app or Clipper card readers. Complete route timetables, discounted Tempo and Line 72R fare details, and San Pablo Avenue corridor plans are available online at actransit.org or by calling (510) 891-4777.