Metro Transit launches “Go Greener” initiative

Plan increases fleet of hybrid-electric buses, expands use of biodiesel

Over the next five years, Metro Transit will add 150 next-generation hybrid-electric buses to its fleet, providing its customers a greener way to travel.

The addition of hybrid-electric buses is one component of the agency’s “Go Greener” initiative that will advance Metro Transit’s commitment to preserving the environment. The Governor’s office announced the agency’s initiative on Aug. 17, along with efforts by the State of Minnesota and the Metropolitan Airports Commission to use more E-85.

“People don’t often view public transit agencies as earth protectors,” said General Manager Brian Lamb. “It is time to break that stereotype. The days of black smoke and smelly buses are long over. Metro Transit is not your father’s transit system.”

Metro Transit plans to replace 314 buses in its fleet as part of a broad effort that reduces the agency’s tailpipe emissions, operating costs and reliance on foreign oil.

Metro Transit currently has three hybrid-electric buses in its fleet, and plans to purchase 150 more in the next five years.

Better fuel mileage, lower emissions

The hybrid-electric buses will get 22 percent better fuel mileage and emit half the exhaust soot of the buses they will replace. The other 164 buses to be purchased will incorporate the latest engine technology that will burn diesel fuel more efficiently, reducing emissions and getting better mileage.

“We’re the biggest users of fuel in the state. If we can lead by example, that’s fantastic,” said Council Member Mary Hill Smith, who also chairs the Transportation Committee. “It’s really exciting for Metro Transit and for the region.”

“By the time the first of the new hybrid-electric buses is delivered next year, Metro Transit will be in a strong position to invite Minnesotans who care about the environment to examine our environmental efforts and join us,” Lamb said.

First large diesel operator in the state to use B-5

Metro Transit already has already set a high standard for providing transit service in ways that are friendlier to the environment. In July Metro Transit began fueling all its buses with “B-5” — a diesel fuel with five percent biodiesel made from soy. The agency was the first large diesel operator in the state to use the fuel.

As part of the “Go Greener” plan, the agency plans to double the biodiesel content of its fuel supply to 10 percent in mid-2007. The State of Minnesota requires just two percent bio-additives in diesel fuel sold here.

Soybeans are processed into a fuel that is mixed with diesel fuel to create the biodiesel blend used by Metro Transit buses.

In 2005, Metro Transit became the first large diesel operator in the state to use ultra-low-sulfur fuel — the cleanest available — more than year before a federal mandate went into effect.

In recent related efforts, Metro Transit incorporated three hybrid-electric test buses into its fleet and took over the management of the region’s carpooling and biking efforts. In addition, the agency modified bus transmissions of its fleet for better fuel economy and implemented a strategy to reduce bus-engine idling.

Metro Transit may even use a 20 percent biodiesel blend, depending on the outcome of an operational test the agency is conducting using that blend in some of its buses.

Annual fuel savings: $652,000

With this “Go Greener” effort, Metro Transit expects to see reductions in emissions and less fuel consumption — without increases to operating costs. More specifically, the collective benefit of the initiative will reduce emissions by 168 tons each year and replace 1.23 million gallons a year of non-renewable fossil fuel with soy-based fuel consumption and hybrid technology.

By embracing the latest engine technology and sustainable fuel components, Metro Transit estimates that the initiative will result in $652,000 in annual fuel savings.

“The initiative not only makes the environment green, it saves operating greenbacks as well,” Lamb said.