Port Authority, CALSTART Launch $45M Electric Truck Plan — SkimNews
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- Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is partnering with transportation nonprofit CALSTART on a $45 million package — the Clean Truck Incentive (CTI) Program and Green Drayage Accelerator (GDA) — aimed at moving zero-emission terminal and drayage trucks from pilot programs to mainstream fleet choices at the Port of New York and New Jersey.
- The funding includes $39 million in point-of-sale vouchers for zero-emission drayage trucks, yard tractors, and supporting charging infrastructure, plus more than $5 million to develop five new EV charging hubs within 10 miles of port facilities.
- The $45 million is drawn from a larger $451 million EPA Clean Ports Program grant awarded to the Port Authority — described in the source as the largest sustainability grant in Port Authority history — along with a separate $3 million planning grant to create a Port Community Advisory Council.
- CALSTART Executive Vice President Alycia Gilde said pairing vehicle incentives with reliable, high-capacity charging "lowers the barrier to entry for drayage operators" and delivers "immediate, tangible air quality improvements to local port communities."
- Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia framed the program as central to the agency's net-zero-by-2050 commitment, saying the incentives make it "financially realistic for drayage operators to switch to zero-emission trucks and yard equipment."
- The Port Authority initiative joins parallel electrification pushes at APM Terminals Elizabeth operations and Yusen Terminals in Los Angeles, where Yusen is spending more than $200 million on cleaner container-handling equipment.
Why it matters: Point-of-sale vouchers — rather than reimbursement or tax credits — directly cut the upfront price gap between diesel and zero-emission trucks, the single biggest barrier for the small drayage operators who move containers short-haul at the port. Combined with $5 million for five new charging hubs within 10 miles of facilities, the program tackles vehicle cost and charging uptime simultaneously, potentially pulling the East Coast's busiest port ahead of competing gateways in zero-emission drayage adoption.
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