The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) has awarded its 2019 Sustainability winners in the silver category, which was announecd at APTA’s annual Sustainability and Multimodal Planning Workshop in Boston.
The two winners are: Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) in St. Petersburg, Fl and Rock Island County Metropolitan Mass Transit District (MetroLINK) in Moline, Il.
“We are thrilled to recognize these award recipients and the actions they have taken to lessen their impact on the environment on a daily basis,” APTA President and CEO Paul Skoutelas said. “Making this commitment to sustainability lays the groundwork that will allow for future investment in new technologies and practices that will make for a brighter future for many generations to come.”
Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) – St Petersburg, Fl
PSTA operates Florida’s largest fleet of hybrid-electric vehicles, with over 80 buses in the fleet. In addition, two all-electric buses are currently in operation, with four more planned for 2020. PSTA has implemented a variety of sustainability programs to benefit Pinellas County residents and visitors including reducing electricity consumption, an internal recycling program and operation of an after-hours service that provides Uber/taxi rides to low-income riders going to or from work when buses are not running.
Rock Island County Metropolitan Mass Transit District (MetroLINK) – Moline, Il
MetroLINK is focused on a sustainable Quad Cities through voluntary efforts to reduce vehicle emissions, building efficient and sustainable infrastructure, and communicating transit’s environmental benefits to the community. Over 75 percent of MetroLINK’s fixed-route fleet is powered by Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses, and the system deployed its first eight zero emission battery electric buses and accompanying charging system over the last 18 months. Recent infrastructure investments include a USGBC LEED Silver passenger terminal, which was part of a larger transit-oriented development project with residential housing, and a state-of-the-art Operations and Maintenance Facility with a rooftop solar array, solar thermal hot water system and a bus wash water reclamation system.
