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    1. Alt. Mobility
    2. Shared Mobility
    3. Car Sharing

    Tesla X is OCTA’s first all-electric vanpool vehicle

    Aug. 7, 2020
    Five commuters from southern Riverside County who travel 140 miles roundtrip daily to Seal Beach were the first to use the new vehicle.
    Related To: Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA)
    OCTA
    Employees at the Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach get their first look at a Tesla X.
    Employees at the Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach get their first look at a Tesla X.

    The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) has introduced the Tesla Model X SUV, the agency’s first all-electric vehicle to enter the vanpool program.

    The introduction of the first all-electric vehicle is another important step toward OCTA’s goal of providing a balanced and sustainable transportation system for Orange County, which includes vehicles that release zero emissions into the environment.

    The Tesla X is provided by Green Commuter, one of three vanpool companies contracted by OCTA to provide vehicles to commuters in Orange County to help them share the ride as they travel to work.

    The all-electric vanpool vehicle is being used by five employees who work in Seal Beach at the Naval Weapons Station. They commute approximately 140 miles roundtrip each day from near Murrieta in southern Riverside County.

    “I greatly appreciate these essential employees from Seal Beach who come to work each day to serve our community. Their participation in OCTA’s Vanpool program helps take more cars off the road and protects the environment in the process,” said OCTA Chairman Steve Jones, also the mayor of Garden Grove.

    Currently, the OCTA Vanpool program has 164 active vehicles. Most of them run on gasoline, but more electric vehicles are expected to be added to the fleet.

    The overall number of vanpools currently running in Orange County is down sharply from approximately 470 operating prior to COVID-19, when many employees began working remotely.

    Still, many essential workers at major Orange County employers such a UCI Medical Center, Quest Diagnostic and Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) continue to operate vanpools.

    OCTA helps cover approximately 25 percent of the cost of operating the vanpools each month. This program helps large companies provide an important benefit to employees, reduce parking needs and meet regional air-quality requirements.

    This year, OCTA has taken several steps in the continued effort toward zero-emission technology. In January, OCTA introduced a fleet of 10 hydrogen fuel-cell electric buses and debuted the nation’s largest hydrogen fueling station at its Santa Ana Bus Base.

    Then, in April, the OCTA board approved a pilot program for 10 plug-in battery-electric buses, scheduled to begin operating in late 2021.