At a ceremony this morning, the last diesel bus in Metro’s fleet was retired, making Metro the first major transit agency in the world to operate only alternative clean fueled buses.
“Today is a great day for Metro and the people of L.A. County because it’s an excellent day for our region’s air quality” said Supervisor and Metro Chair Don Knabe. “With today’s retirement, Metro becomes the first major transit system in the world to run entirely on clean alternative fuels. We’ve been working toward this day since 1993 and now just one look at our sky helps tell the story. The air is getting cleaner, in part because Metro is getting greener.”
Metro directors in 1993 decided to only order clean air vehicles, an action that paved the way for other transit agencies across the U.S. to opt for greener vehicles. After experimenting with methanol and ethanol buses that proved too corrosive for bus engines, Metro, ultimately, went with compressed natural gas (CNG) engines and today has 2,221 CNG buses.
The clean air bus fleet is just one aspect of Metro’s green program which also includes widespread use of solar panels at bus maintenance facilities and other energy saving devices to cut energy costs, recycling, and building and retrofitting new transit facilities with sustainable materials and practices.