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March
15, 2002 |
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MTA Powers Up First
Clean Air Buses, New CNG Fueling
Air quality in the San
Gabriel Valley is about to improve with MTA's introduction of a fleet of
new compressed natural gas (CNG) buses and a new CNG fueling facility at
MTA's El Monte bus yard. MTA Board Chairman John
Fasana, who is also a Duarte City Councilman, today joined air quality
officials, business and community leaders at a press conference where the
first of 176 new clean-fuel buses were fueled and dispatched from MTA's El
Monte bus division. About 40 of the new
North American Bus Industries buses that will be assigned to the San
Gabriel Valley are in service today and the balance will be delivered by
this June. Altogether, MTA will
have 1,900 CNG buses in service throughout Los Angeles County by this
summer. That is more than any other transit property in the nation. "When compared to
the older diesel buses that are being replaced, MTA's compressed natural
gas buses run 83 percent cleaner in terms of emissions and our entire
fleet will reduce more than 39 tons of air pollution each day,"
Fasana said. "The Los Angeles region has the worst smog in the This improvement in air
quality makes a positive difference in the quality of life for residents
of the San Gabriel Valley and the entire Los Angeles basin." The State Air Resources
Board (CARB) recently found diesel particulate matter to be a human
carcinogen. CNG buses reduce emissions of particulate matter by more than
90 percent. Against that backdrop,
officials from the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD)
cited MTA for its leadership role in promoting alternative fuels for the
transit industry. In 1994 the MTA Board of Directors adopted a policy that
called for purchasing only alternative fueled buses. "This is a key
step forward in our fight to clean up our air in the San Gabriel Valley
and the region as a whole," said AQMD Governing Board Chair Norma
Glover. "MTA's CNG engines generally
burn cleaner than other fuels. This helps prolong the engine life of bus
engines and improves reliability. That translates into better service on
the street. In the past five years
MTA has strove to upgrade its bus fleet while also expanding service on
the street by nearly 500 buses. The buses assigned to El Monte are part of
an order for 370 buses, manufactured by North American Bus Industries
based in Anniston, Ala., which are being delivered to MTA this winter and
spring. In addition to running on clean fuel, the buses feature a low
floor design, which is easier for passengers to board and exit,
surveillance cameras on the buses and other features. MTA has partnered with
Hanover Company of Broken Arrow, Okla. to build new CNG fueling facilities
at MTA's El Monte bus division and bus yards in Sun Valley and downtown.
All will be completed this spring. CNG fueling stations already are in
operation at most of MTA's other bus divisions. The new CNG fueling
station at MTA's El Monte bus yard can fuel approximately 48 buses an
hour. MTA-031 |
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