SEATTLE, Wash. — Zonar, a leader in smart fleet management and compliance solutions, today announced it has become the first telematics provider certified by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to support Clean Truck Check (CTC) compliance through OEM-installed vehicle integrations. With 14+ years of the Zonar V4 telematics box installed on approximately 400,000 Freightliner Cascadia, Thomas Built Buses, and Western Star trucks at the factory, any fleet operating these vehicles in California today can immediately access the solution.

A first in the industry, this expanded executive order allows fleets operating California CTC-regulated vehicles to meet emissions compliance requirements without physically connecting to the vehicle’s diagnostic port or installing additional aftermarket hardware.

Why Zonar’s CARB Emission Solution Is Different

CARB’s Clean Truck Check regulation requires non-gasoline vehicles over 14,000 lbs operating in California to submit emissions data on a recurring schedule. Until now, compliance typically required:

Manual scans at a shop or yard.

Third-party service providers.

Vehicle downtime and scheduling complexity.

Zonar’s newly approved certification introduces a new compliance pathway.

With this executive order, OEM-installed and hardwired Zonar devices, already embedded in supported vehicles, can automatically collect and submit required emissions data directly to CARB. No shop visits. No plug-in scans. No operational disruption.

Zonar is the only provider whose CARB executive order explicitly permits compliance via a hardwired vehicle harness, not just a direct OBD connection.

Who This Impacts

With large and distributed fleets facing increasing compliance frequency, moving to four checks per year beginning in 2027, this certification directly benefits:

Fleets operating in California subject to CARB Clean Truck Check requirements.

OEM-equipped vehicles, including factory-installed telematics configurations.

School transportation, transit, and commercial fleets seeking to reduce downtime and compliance risk.

Mixed and transitioning fleets, where OEM-equipped vehicles can now meet compliance requirements without operational inconsistency.

Fleets can now achieve CARB compliance automatically, in the background, using hardware already installed in their vehicles, either as a standalone emissions solution or alongside Zonar’s broader telematics, diagnostics, and maintenance offerings.

First to Market Again
Zonar was the first telematics provider certified by CARB as a continuously connected Clean Truck Check solution and is now the first, and only, provider approved for OEM-installed and hardwired configurations.

This milestone reflects years of close collaboration with CARB, OEM partners, and Zonar’s in-house engineering team to meet the most rigorous regulatory and technical standards.

“CARB compliance is becoming more frequent, more complex, and more disruptive for fleets—but it doesn’t have to be,” said Amit Anand, SVP of Product at Zonar. “Because we design our own hardware, work directly with OEMs, and partner closely with CARB, we were able to deliver a solution no one else in the market could. This certification removes downtime, eliminates guesswork, and allows fleets to stay compliant automatically using technology they already have.”

Why Zonar’s OEM-Certified CARB Emission Solution Changes the Experience for Fleets

With Zonar’s Emission Check, fleets experience:

No downtime for compliance scans.
Earlier detection of emissions issues within CARB’s compliance window.

Lower cost compared to manual or third-party scans.

Future-readiness as CARB enforcement and inspection frequency increases.

With enforcement tied to vehicle registration, roadside inspections, ports, and rail yards, CARB compliance is no longer optional. Zonar’s solution helps fleets meet these requirements proactively and seamlessly, reducing risk while keeping vehicles on the road.

To learn more about the CARB Clean Truck Emissions Check, go to https://www.zonarsystems.com/solutions/carb-clean-truck-emissions-check/.

About Zonar Systems:
Zonar combines a unified fleet management platform with reliable telematics hardware and always-on human support giving mission-critical fleets precise, trustworthy data to improve safety, ensure compliance and reduce operating costs. Proven every day in pupil transportation, where it safeguards millions of children, Zonar’s technology and partnership deliver the trust, transparency and confidence public-sector, field service and vocational fleets need to perform when it matters most. To learn more, go to www.zonarsystems.com.

The post Zonar Becomes First Telematics Provider Approved for OEM-Based California Air Resources Board Clean Truck Check Compliance appeared first on School Transportation News.

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The following commentary was written by Kelley Trombley, senior manager of state policy at Ceres. See our commentary guidelines for more information.

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This campaign season, the state of Washington was a battleground for energy and climate policy. The pitched fight over Initiative 2117 became one of the most expensive ballot measures in state history, drawing millions of dollars in political funding to each side of the issue, which would have repealed Washington’s Climate Commitment Act to end its nation-leading cap-and-invest system. In its first year alone, the policy has driven $2.2 billion into projects designed to protect the state from the effects of climate change while fighting pollution, but faced opposition from those who argued it hurt the economy. 

Yet it was some of the top employers in the state – and for that matter on the planet – that urged voters to keep the program in place. Amazon, Microsoft, and REI were among the many companies urging a no vote. And in the end, voters agreed, decisively defeating the ballot measure by a wide margin. It turns out that this kind of climate action is actually an economic boon. 

The strong showing of corporate support for the CCA shouldn’t be surprising. Take it from me and my colleagues at Ceres, a sustainability nonprofit that works with businesses and investors across the country on sustainability issues. Over the last decade, leading businesses have increasingly come to recognize that climate and clean energy policies are key economic drivers. Business leaders have rallied to support them – from the federal Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, marking the nation’s largest-ever investment into confronting climate change, to ambitious legislation in states across the U.S., including here in Washington. 

To understand why, just think about what businesses need to prosper. Reliable and affordable electricity to power their operations. Good transportation networks to ensure people and goods can get where they need to be. Infrastructure investment and job growth to bolster local economies. Market-based systems to efficiently solve pressing economywide problems. And, last but not least, a healthy workforce. 

The CCA is delivering all of that.  

By putting a cap on carbon pollution designed to all but eliminate it by 2050, the policy uses basic economic principles to address the challenge and financial risks of climate change. It promises to reduce impacts such as floods, drought, heatwaves, and severe storms that threaten pillars of the economy that businesses depend on, such as infrastructure, facilities, supply chains, and workforces. Not only that, the CCA is also investing in improving and fortifying many of those very things: its revenue is being used to improve and modernize energy and transportation infrastructure, invest in energy efficiency, and protect communities from climate impacts. Repealing it was projected to cost some 45,000 good-paying jobs and do $9 billion in economic damage. 

Businesses understood the CCA is about protecting and strengthening our economic future, one that we are all in together. And voters did too. By voting no, Washington has signaled to companies across the U.S. that it is acting to address a major economic challenge and is investing in solutions that businesses of the future will rely on.  

There’s a lesson here for state policymakers around the country, especially those committed to strengthening their communities as an attractive and reliable place to conduct business. The private sector will continue to seize business opportunities as clean energy investment grows, and states will find broad support when they address the economic imperative to reduce pollution and advance clean power, transportation, and building policies. In Washington, voters made it abundantly clear that their “no” vote wasn’t about just protecting the climate. It was about protecting the economy as well. 

Commentary: Why businesses stood up for Washington state’s cap-and-invest policy is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.