Decarbonizing the commercial trucking industry faces a long list of challenges, especially drayage. And now, a group representing a critical port region has put together and released a "roadmap" to phase out truck emissions.
The Puget Sound Zero Emission Truck Collaborative has newly released the results of a nearly two-year-long project called the Decarbonizing Drayage Roadmap to 2050, a "shared vision and strategy to guide the transition to zero-emission drayage trucks in the Puget Sound region," the nearly 100-mile coastal area in Washington State that runs through some major ports, including the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma.
The Collaborative, founded in 2023 with funding from the Washington State Department of Transportation and The Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA), is led by "a third-party facilitator and technical team" and consists of more than 25 members representing the freight industry, community groups, tribes, utilities and truck drivers." The combined work resulted in the Roadmap, which includes almost 70 recommendations aimed at making zero-emission trucks affordable and available and building the required charging infrastructure.
Diesel pollution from drayage trucks, according to the Puget Sound Maritime Emissions Inventory (PSEI), is actually down 87% since 2016, and climate pollution is down by 4%. Truck emissions, however, still account for nearly 6% and 30% of all seaport-related diesel pollution and seaport-related climate pollution, respectively.
The full 73-page report can be read here.
Here are some of the main topics:
- Zero-emission drayage truck fundamentals
- Principles for decarbonizing drayage
- Transitioning to ZEVs: Priorities for Action
- Vehicles: Recommendations
- Infrastructure: Recommendations
- Equity and opportunity: Recommendations
- Funding the ZEV transition
- Roles and responsibilities
- Ongoing collaboration and coordination
“Trucking, and truck drivers, are the lifeblood of our economy. When we go to the grocery store, get new shoes or a new car, or order something online, all these goods are brought to us by trucks. This Roadmap lays out a sensible, phased pathway for taking the necessary steps toward a zero-emission future while supporting this vital industry” said Sheri Call, president & CEO of the Washington Trucking Association.
