In an announcement made today by the US Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration, El Paso’s Sun Metro was selected to receive nearly $30.6 million to buy new low-emission buses. The city’s award is part of the Biden Administration’s $1.5 billion in funding to improve public transportation in 47 states.
US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that today’s announcement helps communities such as El Paso to “replace old buses running on dirtier, expensive fuels by delivering modern and zero-emission buses, manufactured by American workers.”
According to the funding announcement, the federal funds will help Sun Metro replace older buses that have exceeded their useful life. Sun Metro expects to buy new compressed natural gas buses with the award to replace its older fleet. In addition to new buses, Sun Metro will use the funds to build new bus canopies at transit centers. It is hoped that the new buses will provide Sun Metro with a more sustainable bus fleet, reducing greenhouse gas emissions while improving air quality for El Paso.
About $63.4 million has been awarded to two Texas communities and the Texas Department of Transportation under the Federal Transit Administration program. El Paso was awarded $30,597,000 which was the largest amount awarded in Texas. Corpus Christi was awarded $5.8 million.
Another award of $26.8 million was made to the Texas Department of Transportation to replace transit vehicles and complete bus facilities in rural communities in Texas.
Natural compressed gas buses are not new to El Paso’s Sun Metro. In 1997, Sun Metro operated the “world’s largest natural-gas-fueled mass transit fleet,” according to a Case Study of Sun Metro by the US Department of Energy. A 1991 Texas law required all communities operating a fleet of more than 15 vehicles to begin converting to alternative fuels. By 1998, 90% of the public transportation entities were required to use alternative fuels.
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Because Texas produces natural gas, the law encouraged compressed natural gas (CNG) or liquified natural gas (LNG) as the alternative fuel.
In a press release issued today, congresswoman Veronica Escobar said that “the federal government is investing $30 million” in El Paso. Escobar added she “was proud to champion legislation that touches the lives of so many El Pasoans to provide cleaner, more reliable, and more economically sound public transportation.”
Sun Metro completed the conversion of their bus fleet to compressed natural gas by 2006 when it replaced its remaining diesel buses.