METRO Houston has been reducing emissions by utilizing CNG since 2016 with a fleet of 50 CNG buses in the Houston area. In 2015, METRO entered into a fuel supply agreement with Freedom CNG to provide clean burning CNG for their buses. Using Freedom’s North Houston facility located in the Pinto Business Park, METRO leads the way in public transportation by dedicating resources for the protection of the environment through the use of alternative fuels.
Since 2016 METRO has traveled 8.2 million miles on CNG. With 20 more CNG buses on order from New Flyer Industries, METRO aims to further improve their environmental footprint in the Space City.
The Houston-Woodlands Area has poor air quality, with 67% of Houston’s ozone production coming from mobile emissions including cars, trucks and buses. METRO implemented change to combat the ever-growing ozone issue and in 2017 used over 1 million gallons of CNG, thereby reducing 1,078 tons of NOx, which contributes heavily to the creation of ozone.
“METRO, as one of the largest diesel buyers in the area, has a unique opportunity to significantly improve air quality locally by expanding the use of CNG for a large percentage of the 1,200 transit buses in Houston”, said Freedom Co-Manager Bill Winters. “METRO can be a catalyst for change in Houston by encouraging other local governmental entities to use CNG, which is a proven, clean, cheap, stable, locally produced and reliable transportation fuel.”
Source: Freedom CNG
