A new $10.5-million U.S. Department of Transportation grant will fund the purchase of 30 next-generation, near zero-emission compressed natural gas buses to run in the South Bay and Gateway Cities region, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) announced recenlty.
Combined with Metro’s $10.5-million match, a total of $21 million will be invested to replace aging diesel buses that now operate on seven Metro contracted bus lines: the 125, 128, 130, 205, 232, 607 and 626. Grant funding will also pay for refueling facilities, as well as an innovative workplace development program to give workers new training opportunities to operate and maintain these and other buses around the county.
“We are appreciative of the U.S Department of Transportation for this grant that will go a long way toward modernizing our contracted bus fleet,” said John Fasana, Metro Board Chair and Duarte City Council Member. “This grant represents the largest award in the state of California under this discretionary U.S. DOT program, and it reflects our close federal partnership to give this region the best air quality and vehicle technology possible.”
As part of its procurement, Metro will purchase the cleanest compressed natural gas (CNG) buses ever made. New CNG engines that will be placed in the new buses are 1,000 times cleaner than the diesel buses Metro operated during the 1980s and ‘90s. The engines are also projected to reduce emissions 25 percent more than Metro’s 2014 CNG transit vehicles.
They will be particularly well suited to operate on contracted bus lines in the South Bay and Gateway Cities region, since these areas suffer from stubbornly poor air quality in part due to the heavy truck traffic traveling in and out of port areas. There are now only about 66 contracted diesel buses that have reached the end of their useful life remaining in the county. Metro has committed to replacing all of them in the coming years.
“I am proud to have helped Metro obtain federal support for this important project,” said Rep. Maxine Waters, the U.S. Congress Member representing the 43rd District. “This project will enable Metro to upgrade its bus fleet and continue to provide essential transportation services in the South Bay region, while helping to clean up the air in our communities.”
The seven bus lines that will operate these new 40-foot CNG buses together carry 6.8 million passenger boardings per year. They transport more than 40,000 boardings a week, providing transit access to thousands of jobs and regional destinations, including Los Angeles International Airport.
“I advocated for this federal grant because it will allow Metro to take dirty diesel buses off of our roads and will mean cleaner air for our children to breathe,” said Congresswoman Janice Hahn. “You cannot put a price tag on health and this grant money will make a difference in communities I represent and across LA County.”
"This is great news for Los Angeles County. The Gateway Cities will benefit from the Bus and Bus Facilities grant and the local match. I am deeply grateful to the US Department of Transportation for making this critical investment in the future of our Southeast workers and families,” said Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard.
"This grant from the Federal Government will get more clean busses on the road, taking cars off our streets," said Metro Board Director Mike Bonin, who also serves as Chair of the LA City Council's Transportation Committee and represents communities around the airport. "This is a great example of how partnership between Metro and the federal Department of Transportation can improve how we get around Southern California."
Metro currently has the largest CNG bus fleet in the country. In 1992, Metro’s Board of Directors adopted a policy to only purchase CNG buses. The agency now has 2,500 CNG buses that travel more than 85 million miles per year. In total, CNG buses have operated about 1.5 billion miles in the county since the program’s inception. CNG fuel is less expensive than diesel on a cost-per-mile basis. Over the last 15 years, Metro has saved an average of 47 cents per mile on CNG fuel costs.
“Metro is already the nation’s leading operator of clean air CNG buses, but this new funding will help us expedite the replacement of a small number of diesel buses that are still in our contracted service fleets,” said Phillip A. Washington, Metro CEO. “We are now one step closer to completely eradicating diesel buses of any kind from the streets of Los Angeles County. I’d like to thank our partners at the U.S. Department of Transportation for helping us reach that goal.”
Metro is now in the CNG bus procurement process, and anticipates putting the new vehicles into service next year.
