ChargePoint and Eaton to Deploy Charging Infrastructure for Santa Monica's Electric Bus Fleet
The $56-million project includes 130 DC fast charging ports as the city targets a fully zero-emission fleet by 2032.
ChargePoint and Eaton have been tapped to provide EV charging infrastructure for Big Blue Bus, the public transit agency serving Santa Monica and the greater Westside region of Los Angeles County.
What Happened
The Santa Monica Department of Transportation selected ChargePoint's DC fast charging solutions and fleet software alongside Eaton's electrical infrastructure and energy management technology. The project is part of a $56-million investment in electric transit fleet infrastructure. Big Blue Bus plans to deploy 130 DC fast charging ports, exclusively using ChargePoint's Express Plus line of equipment. Eaton is supplying medium-voltage switchgear, switchboards, panelboards, and engineering expertise. According to ChargePoint CEO Rick Wilmer, the deployment represents one of the company's largest transit projects to date.
Why It Matters
For transit agencies evaluating electrification, this project offers a real-world benchmark for scaling high-power charging across a large bus fleet. The 130-port installation underscores the infrastructure complexity involved in converting an entire agency to zero-emission operations — from electrical distribution equipment to software managing charge sessions across hundreds of ports. Santa Monica's 2032 target aligns with broader state-level clean transit mandates, and how ChargePoint and Eaton execute this build could shape procurement decisions by other agencies weighing similar transitions.
The Bottom Line
Santa Monica is committing $56 million and 130 charging ports toward eliminating tailpipe emissions from its bus fleet by 2032. ChargePoint and Eaton will handle the hardware and electrical infrastructure for what the companies call one of ChargePoint's largest transit deployments to date.
