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| DC and NYC to Purchase Diesel Hybrid Buses The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) moved one step closer to adding hybrid buses to its fleet with members of the Board voting to purchase 100 new diesel hybrid buses. The Board declined to pursue the purchase of compressed natural gas (CNG) buses in favor of 117 regular diesel buses. Officials cited prohibitive additional cost of upgrading the fueling facilities for the CNG buses as the reason for the shift to hybrids. WMATA operates 1,450 buses including 164 CNG buses. The buses will be purchased at a cost of $116 million over the next three years. Funding for the buses will come from WMATA’s Infrastructure Replacement Program. However, the decision was contentious, with some board members voting against the decision to abandon the purchase of additional CNG buses in favor of the diesel buses. Those members contended that DC’s serious air pollution problems warrant implementation of the cleanest available option which is CNG. In related news, New York City (NYC) Transit decided to forgo additional CNG buses in favor of more diesel hybrids. NYC Transit has already purchased 325 diesel hybrid buses representing seven percent of 4,512 vehicles in the fleet. The transit agency will purchase 100 diesel hybrid buses with the option for 400 additional hybrids, instead of the 120 CNG buses originally proposed. NYC Transit currently operates 481 compressed natural gas (CNG) buses. The transit agency had planned to convert a Manhanttanville bus depot to a compressed natural gas center at a cost of $50 million in response to complaints that diesel depots were contributing to high rates of childhood asthma and cancer. The decision to go with diesel hybrids instead of the CNG buses is likely to generate controversy, with opponents of the proposal charging that the agency is reneging on its pledge to clean up the depot. For
more information on the WMATA bus story go to:
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DC Receives Failing Grade in Air Quality Report The American Lung Association (ALA) awarded the Washington Metropolitan area an ‘F’ grade for air quality in its State of the Air: 2005 Report released on April 28, 2005. The report ranks urban areas in the US with the unhealthiest air based on prevalence of particulate pollution and ozone. Speaking at a press conference organized in Washington DC, Dr. Bailus Walker Jr., Vice President, American Public Health Association and Board Member, ALA Washington DC, said that over 7.9 million people including 2 million children in the Washington Metro area are breathing air with dangerously high levels of particulate matter. He attributed the poor air quality in large part to emissions from dirty diesel buses and trucks in the region. He emphasized the need to explore the role of alternative fuels in improving air quality. The DC chapter of ALA has been advocating the use of biodiesel in buses especially in DC’s transit fleet. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) operates approximately 1300 diesel buses. Also speaking at the conference was Gladys Mack, vice chairman of the WMATA Board, which recently made the decision to purchase regular diesel buses instead of compressed natural gas (CNG). She emphasized that WMATA was exploring all available technology to improve air quality and CNG was not being phased out in favor for diesel (see related story). She indicated that 250 new CNG buses will be pressed into service beginning in Fall 2005, and stressed that CNG along with hybrid buses will continue to be part WMATA’s strategy to reduce emissions in the region. Read
the American Lung Association State of the Air: 2005 Report
at: |
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| Oil Industry Urges Flexibility on Low Sulfur Diesel Rule Oil
industry associations, including the American Petroleum Institute,
National Petrochemical and Refiners Association and Association
of Oil Pipelines, are urging the Bush administration, EPA and Congress
to allow them flexibility in complying with EPA’s highway
diesel rule. Beginning in June 2006, refineries will be required
to supply highway diesel with sulfur content no greater than 15
parts per million across the country. In a letter addressed to the
White House, senior members of the Senate Environment and Public
Works Committee, and Samuel Bodman, Energy Secretary, the oil industry
contends that distribution and other technical difficulties are
likely to occur initially because the change in diesel fuel is substantial.
They are requesting “reasonable flexibility” from the
EPA in the supply and distribution of the fuel early on and warn
that supply problems are likely in the absence of flexibility.
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| California County Purchases Gasoline Hybrid Buses Montebello,
CA recently joined the hybrid bus club with the purchase of five
gasoline hybrid buses, adding to its existing fleet of 68 diesel
buses. The buses, funded through $2.55 million in state and federal
transportation grants, will be supplied by New Flyer Industries.
The 40-foot buses will be fitted with ISE Corp’s Thundervolt
gasoline-electric series hybrid system. The bus order is part of
a 76-bus purchase by six counties in California, including Long
Beach, Orange, Norwalk, Gardena, Montebello and Fresno. Delivery
of the gasoline hybrid buses is expected in June 2005, and they
are likely to be pressed into service in July. The city eventually
plans to replace 40 diesel buses with hybrids starting in 2006.
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| Biodiesel Grant for Maryland County Queen Anne County, Maryland will soon begin to use biodiesel in its county fleet aided by a grant from the Maryland Energy Administration and the US Department of Energy. The $60,000 grant will fund the purchase of B20 (80 percent diesel and 20 percent biodiesel) for use in approximately 188 vehicles including 20 school buses. Queen Anne’s County is the largest producer of soybeans in the state, producing 11 percent of the 10.8 million bushel crop in 2002. As a result, the increased use of biodiesel is expected to boost the local economy. For
more information on this grant, please visit:
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| Hydrogen Hybrid Bus Makes a Pit Stop at Washington DC In conjunction with the National Hydrogen Association Conference held in Washington, DC, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and ISE Corp. made available a hydrogen hybrid bus for viewing and rides at the U.S. Department of Transportation headquarters on March 28, 2005. The bus is equipped with a Hydrogen Hybrid Internal Combustion Engine (HHICE), a Ford Triton V-10 engine modified by Ford to combust hydrogen. It also uses a variant of ISE's hybrid-electric drive system. Combusting hydrogen in an internal combustion engine, while not zero emissions, provides 99% of the emission reduction benefits of a fuel cell system, at a fraction of the cost. The bus on display was part of the SunLine Transit fleet in California and is the first commercially viable Near Zero Emission Vehicle (NZEV) technology for large transit buses. In addition to funding support from FTA, the following partners also contributed resources: SunLine Transit, California Energy Commission, South Coast Air Quality Management District, Ford Motor Co., Natural Resources Canada, Province of Manitoba, Chula Vista Transit, Manitoba Transit, and New Flyer Industries. More
information is available at:
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| Federal Court Orders EPA to Act on DC Smog Plan The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was ordered by a federal judge to expedite action on a smog reduction plan for the Washington DC area. A US District Judge ruled that EPA repeatedly missed deadlines to approve the DC metropolitan area pollution reduction plan and ordered the agency to act on the plan by May 3, 2005. The judge also sharply rebuked the EPA for an “unblemished record of nonperformance” in complying with sections of the Clean Air Act. The Washington DC area suffers from serious air pollution problems and was designated as a non- attainment area for ozone and particulate matter federal air quality standards. As a result, it was required to submit plans to the EPA outlining measures to improve the region’s air quality. Old diesel buses contribute significantly to the ozone problem in the region, emitting nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds which are ozone-forming precursors. Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America recently ranked Washington DC as the fifth most challenging place in America for people living with asthma. For
more on this story, click here: |
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| Scientists Urge EPA to Strengthen PM Standards A coalition of 100 doctors, scientists, professors, and researchers are urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to strengthen its fine particulate matter standard (PM 2.5). In a letter sent to EPA’s Scientific Advisory Board in April, they contend that recent studies indicate that current particulate PM 2.5 standards do not adequately protect public health, especially of vulnerable populations like children and older people. They recommend strengthening the 24-hour fine particle standard between 25-35 µg/m3 from the current 65 µg/m3 and the annual fine particle standard between 12-14 µg/m3 from the existing 15 µg/m3. Under the Clean Air Act, EPA is required to review and revise standards for criteria pollutants every five years. The current fine PM standards were set in 1997. Under a consent decree with environmental groups, the EPA has until December 2005 to determine if these standards need revision with a final decision due on September 27, 2006. In December 2004 EPA designated 225 counties (partially or entirely) in 20 states to be in non-attainment of the PM 2.5 standard. In
related news, EPA removed 21 counties from its list of areas in
non-attainment of the PM 2.5 standard. Counties in Alabama, California,
Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia
were removed from the list based on 2004 monitoring data.
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| Federal Transportation Policy Update The transportation bill is finally moving forward in the Senate. Initially, the bill appeared to be stalled after failure to receive floor time in March or early April. Shifting legislative priorities including the FY’05 war supplemental spending bill and the energy bill, threatened to hold up the progress of the transportation bill, possibly forcing another extension of the TEA-21 legislation. However,
a quick markup by the Finance Committee on April 19 completed committee
action on the bill and set the stage for floor action. The markup
included an amendment offered by Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY)
to boost the Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefit for transit
from $105 to $155. Members of the committee reiterated that the
total authorization level of $284 billion amount was inadequate
and would be debated on the floor. Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA)
and Minority Ranking Member Max Baucus (D-MT) indicated that they
would offer an amendment on the floor to increase funding levels.
Senator John Kerry also indicated that he would offer a floor amendment
to boost transit’s share of funding to 18.8 percent. The Senate
Banking Committee marked up the transit portion of the bill last
month at $51.6 billion, which represents 18.2 percent of the total
funding for the transportation bill. The Senate began debate on
the bill on April 26 and will continue in May after a week of recess.
This would leave lawmakers less than a month to reconcile differences
with the House before the current TEA-21 legislation expires on
May 31, 2005. Text
of the Senate Transportation Bill is available at:
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Children Exposed to More Pollution Inside School Buses A study published in the April 15th issue of Environmental Science and Technology Journal reveals that children riding in diesel powered school buses are exposed to larger amounts of pollution inside the bus than outside. The study which was carried out by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley measured pollution levels in six empty school buses traveling established routes in Los Angeles. Researchers found that in a single day, on average, a child riding a school bus is likely to breathe in seven to 70 times more exhaust from the bus when compared to the school bus emissions a resident is likely to inhale in an urban area. It was observed that emissions from the engine crankcase were directly entering the bus before they were treated by scrubbers. Estimates indicate that for every metric ton of pollution emitted by a school bus, the cumulative mass of pollution inhaled by 40 or more kids on the bus was comparable to or larger than the cumulative mass inhaled by all other people in an urban area. Scientists concluded that the cleanup of school buses would be more cost effective in terms of health care savings when compared to clean up of other heavy-duty vehicles. There are approximately 450,000 school buses in the country of which 395,000 are diesel powered. Abstract
of the study available at: |
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| CARB
Hearing on Urban Bus Standards
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| CARB
Fuels Public Consultation May 2, 2005, 1:30 pm to 4:00 pm Sacramento, CA The California Air Resources Board (CARB) will hold a workshop to discuss the CARB’s regulatory and non-regulatory fuel related activities. Topics will include issues relating to the California Phase 3 Reformulated Gasoline regulations and the California diesel fuel regulations for vehicular and non-vehicular uses including a discussion on biodiesel. For more information, please visit: http://www.arb.ca.gov/fuels/gasoline/meeting/2005/mtg2005.htm
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| 11th
Annual Clean Cities Conference & Expo
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| 17th
Annual Tour de Sol May 13–16, 2005 Saratoga and Albany, NY Monte Carlo-style Rally and 100-mpg Challenge at Tour de Sol Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) members who own hybrid cars or who are using biodiesel in their diesel vehicles are invited to join a new competition that ends at the 2005 Tour de Sol. Rally participants compete for up to $10,000 and 35 awards for the most fuel-efficient production-hybrid or biodiesel vehicles. $5,000 of this money will go to the most fuel-efficient vehicle that breaks the 100-MPG barrier over the course of the 150-mile rally. To learn more and to register for the Monte Carlo event please visit: http://www.nesea.org/transportation/tour/2005montecarloevent.html For
more information on Tour de Sol, or to register, please visit: |
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Alaska
Clean Energy Symposium II: Alaska's Role in Solving National Transportation
Energy Challenges |
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| American
Public Transportation Association 2005 Bus and Paratransit Conference May 15-17, 2005 Columbus, Ohio For more information, or to register, please visit: http://www.apta.com/conferences_calendar/bus/ |
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| EESI’s National Clean Bus Project is eager to learn about your clean bus fleet. If you are in the process of procurement, or if you already operate buses that produce fewer emissions and consume less fuel than conventional diesel buses, let us know if we haven’t heard – and told -- your story! Provide (1) the name of your organization and primary contact person; (2) type of bus engine, fuel, and other emission control devices used; (3) number of buses; (4) funding sources; (5) costs and benefits; (6) and lessons learned. We’ll post this information on our website and include it in future editions of the Clean Bus Update! Send this information to Shefali Ranganathan at sranganathan@eesi.org or call 202-662-1883. More information can be mailed to 122 C St., NW, Suite 630, Washington, DC 20001. | |
| The Clean Bus Update is a monthly periodical providing an overview of current program and policy activities related to the deployment of low-polluting, energy-efficient buses in the United States. Topics include technology developments, clean vehicle deployment, energy consumption, the environment, government policy, and public health. The National Clean Bus Network is an informal coalition of public and private sector organizations working to increase the use of cleaner bus technologies and fuels. The National Clean Bus Network is a free resource to all clean bus stakeholders. If there are issues we are missing and you think we should cover, please let us know. | |
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