United States continues to fund natural gas buses with federal stimulus programs

The funding for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s new CNG bus fleet comes from the Federal Transit Administration’s Bus Livability, Alternatives Analysis and State of Good Repair programs, reported Los Angeles Times. “Investing in America’s transit systems will generate tens of thousands of construction-related jobs and put more money in the pockets of working Americans,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in a statement announcing the grant awards.

On the other hand, about half of Tulsa’s 15 buses are already on their routes, with the rest set to be on the streets in the next weeks. The vehicles are now being filled at the city’s fuelling point, but later this month the agency’s own CNG station will be ready at its headquarters. The facility was paid with a USD 2.5 million federal Clean Fuels grant and a bank loan of up to USD 625,000 that Tulsa Transit will repay over three years with the fuel savings achieved.

Once the entire fleet is on CNG, the fuel budget should drop from USD 1.5 million annually to USD 750,000, according to Tulsa Transit General Manager Bill Cartwright, who also plans to fund the conversion of as many as 30 of the agency’s diesel buses to natural gas, as published by Tulsa World.