June 26, 2023. The new units will be a part of METRO’s climate action plan; one of their goals is to purchase only zero-emission buses by 2030.
Harris County’s METRO chairman, Sanjay Ramabhadran, said METRO is not only a transit agency, but also a public service agency. “Our buses need to be able to help our customers when they need it the most. During a flood event, during a hurricane,” he said. “And so, having a mix of fuel is important to the region because what we don’t want to have is the situation when a hurricane hits and we lose power, and we only have electric buses.”
The money is part of $1.7 billion from the Federal Transit Administration designated for better and cleaner buses on the roads nationwide. METRO is working toward eventually having only electric-powered or hydrogen-fueled buses. However, Paul Kincaid with the Federal Transit Administration said METRO will have to slowly transition toward their zero-emission goal.
“We also know that for some agencies, going to a full zero-emission transition isn’t the answer yet,” Kincaid said. “They wanna replace their older buses with something better. And so as an example, Harris county will be getting 40 compressed natural gas (CNG) buses.”
The natural gas buses will still be cleaner than the diesel buses METRO currently uses, Kincaid said. METRO also plans on using the funds to modernize a bus maintenance facility. Other cities benefiting from the money include Beaumont and Conroe.
In Beaumont, nearly $3 million from the Federal Transit Administration will go toward CNG buses to replace older buses. The administration said the buses will help improve safety and reliability as well as air quality.
Conroe Connection Transit, which received $4.5 million from the Federal Transit Administration, will also buy natural gas buses for its Route 291 service, a park-and-ride commuter service to downtown Houston.