New York’s MTA Orders 110 CNG-Powered Transit Buses

New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced the MTA has ordered 110 new CNG-powered buses to operate across the Bronx and Brooklyn between now and the first quarter of 2019. The new buses will be the first CNG 60-foot articulated buses, and will replace a portion of the existing fleet of 781, 40-foot CNG buses, taking the oldest buses out of service and adding capacity. MTA CNG buses are cleaner burning and have lower particulate emissions than diesel buses.

“We have an opportunity to not only modernize our bus fleet but to also reduce emissions that impact the environment and public health,” said Governor Cuomo.

The MTA is also starting a three-year pilot program for 10 all-electric buses that will be supported by overnight charging stations.

New York State has the lowest per capita energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in the nation thanks, in part, to the fact that two-thirds of the state’s residents live and work in the region served by the MTA.

While the MTA produces 2.1 million metric tons of Greenhouse Gas Emissions a year, its transit operations actually reduce the emissions by 17 million metric tons annually. The MTA is the first transit agency to quantify such emissions on a regional basis, and does so as part of its ongoing mission to measure all of the benefits of public transportation.