New buses help combat smog, reduce harmful emissions
The Big Blue Bus turned a shade greener for Earth Day yesterday.
Santa Monica’s mass transit service began using several new buses Monday that run entirely on liquefied natural gas, which is methane gas cooled to 250 degrees below zero.
“The new LNG buses are a critical component for making our city a cleaner, healthier, more livable place,” said Stephanie Negriff, acting director of Transportation Services.
By switching just one diesel bus to natural gas, the agency reduces the same amount of smog and soot generated by 25 passenger vehicles a day.
Diesel engines are a major contributor to smog and problems with the ozone, according to a Coalition for Clean Air report.
The new buses generate 87 percent less non-methane organic gas and nitrogen oxides, 70 percent less carbon monoxide and 20 percent less carbon dioxide.
“That’s a lot of smog we’re reducing just by offering mass transportation,” said Big Blue Bus spokesman Dan Dawson.
Big Blue Bus plans to add 37 of the new buses between now and June.
“We’re going to be replacing 15 of our oldest buses, and increasing the fleet by another 22 buses,” Dawson said. “Slowly we’ll be phasing in more LNG buses until the entire fleet is converted.”
“We’re going to be replacing 15 of our oldest buses, and increasing the fleet by another 22 buses.” — — DAN DAWSON Big Blue Bus spokesman
In addition to being environmentally friendly, the new buses run quieter and feature a smoother ride, he said. Also, they also are lower to the ground, which makes it easier for persons with disabilities to board.
While the new buses run about $30,000 more than the $350,000 average price of a new diesel bus, their lower fuel costs average out in the long run.
There are over 100,000 LNG buses on the road today and 25 percent of all new bus orders are for the environmentally-friendly vehicles. Because of that, Dawson said parts and fuel are easy to come by.
The fuel is also 30 percent cheaper than diesel, even though it takes more LNG fuel to travel the same distance as gasoline. LNG fuel is made in the United States and reduces dependency on exterior sources of fuel, especially from the Middle East, Dawson said.
New LNG and compressed natural gas refueling stations are being built at the Big Blue Bus 8.5-acre station. The agency is also building a new bus wash with a water reclamation system that will cut water use by up to 80 percent.
Big Blue Bus has had a 17 percent increase in rid-ership over the past 10 years. On a daily basis, the bus service transports 80,000 on 183 buses.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 23, 2002. Read the original PDF.