Students visit Santa Clara Valley Transit.

Hartnell College is partnering with Santa Clara Valley Transit to train students to work on two new electric buses that are now part of its fleet.

CEC funding is being used to help establish Hartnell as a training and repair facility for the transit system.
Automotive Instructor Pete Escoto said he is excited about what this partnership will bring to the college and its students. Read More →

Here’s a look at how American River College is using CEC funding to make an impact on prospective students in their areas.

The focus at American River College is on fleet operations and large-scale engines, rather than consumer cars. The college used its CEC funding to purchase a CNG tractor cab that it uses as a recruiting tool. Read More →

Here’s a look at how Bakersfield College is using CEC funding to make an impact on prospective students in their areas.

The CEC funding has allowed Bakersfield College to completely change its recruiting focus by creating classes in hybrid technology that it was not previously able to offer. Read More →

Here’s a look at how Cerritos College is using CEC funding to make an impact on prospective students in their areas.

Cerritos College has been so successful in its outreach that the college is looking to hire someone who will be specifically focused on recruiting.

David Roper, an instructor in the college’s automotive department, said those duties are currently split among instructors, who are also being asked to teach more classes to meet increased demand. Read More →

Greg Jones, longtime mechanic at San Francisco’s famed Luscious Garage, wrote the book on hybrid repair — literally.

Jones recently shared that knowledge with instructors and staff from City College of San Francisco and nearby George Washington High School.

With funding provided to CCSF through the California Energy Commission, Jones lead a three-day training session on campus just prior to the start of the fall semester. The training was drawn from his decades of experience working on hybrid vehicles. At Luscious Garage, he is responsible for maintenance and repair of San Francisco’s hybrid taxi fleet. Read More →

Instructors in Chabot College’s Hybrid and Alternative Fuel Vehicles program are ready to teach their students the latest technology thanks to training from one of the industry’s leading professional development providers, and funding from the California Energy Commission.

Chabot faculty attended multi-day training sessions held throughout the summer. Topics covered included:

• Diagnostics equipment
• Scope testing
• Converter/inverter operation
• Battery health testing
• Toyota Online Information (TIS)
• Common Prius issues and diagnoses

Read More →

Over the summer, Copper Mountain College Automotive Technology Instructor Paul Friedt traveled across the country to attend the six-day “Up Your Voltage” training course on hybrid vehicles in Seekonk, Massachusetts.

The training, organized by the Automotive Career Development Center (ACDC), is described as an “immersive boot camp.” It was limited to 16 participants and included the opportunity to work with 10 different hybrid and electric vehicles models ranging from the Chevrolet Volt to the Toyota Highlander. Read More →

An Area Leader Making Its Programs Better

Saddleback College is already known as a leader in its area for alternative fuel vehicle programs. It is now using ATRE-CEC funding to make those programs even better.

National Alternative Fuel Vehicle Odyssey Day

In April, Saddleback College hosted National Alternative Fuel Vehicle Odyssey Day in an effort to educate the community about the positive impact this technology has on the environment.
Some of the vehicles on display included a hydrogen bus, a diesel fire engine, Tesla Model X, Hyundai IONIQ 300, among others. More than 300 people turned out for the event. Read More →

Meeting Critical Needs of Municipal Transportation Systems

The Southern California Regional Transit Training Consortium (SCRTTC) is a non-profit organization comprised of transit agencies, community colleges, universities and private industry partners.
The SCRTTC recently facilitated California Energy Commission (CEC) funding in order to provide training to transit employees across the state, meeting some of the most critical needs faced by municipal transportation systems. Read More →