So far this campaign has mostly been about getting car owners to reduce their time on the road by 20%. Transit riders may be thinking, “Hey, I’m already riding the bus to work. I’m doing all I can.”
Actually, there is more you can do.
While riding transit instead of driving will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, busses are still doing plenty of damage to the atmosphere. You may think that because the Los Angeles MTA has converted its fleet to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) that we’re doing all we can.
Wrong. CNG busses produce significant amounts of CO2, in addition to other pollutants. But we could really make a dent in greenhouse gas emissions by converting the fleet to electric, and the MTA is already studying that possibility.
Not that this will be easy. The MTA has already tested a few electric busses, and the results were less than stellar. Electric bus technology is still fairly new, so cost and reliability are both factors. On top of that, switching the fleet to all electric would require a massive investment in new infrastructure, and that will take years to implement.
So what can you do? Get involved. Stay informed about the MTA’s progress on going electric, and don’t be afraid to let them know if you think the process could be moving faster.
Follow the link below to read articles about this issue on the MTA’s blog, The Source.
The Horizon and the Skyline 