U.S. Department of Transportation Awards $4.4 Million to Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Federal Transit Administration
August 21, 2001

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, August 21, 2001
Contact: Gail Taylor
Tel.: (202) 366-4043
FTA 10-01

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta today announced a grant of more than $4.4 million in Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funds to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) to purchase compressed natural gas (CNG) buses.

The Secretary made the announcement during an Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority luncheon at Los Angeles’s Union Station. “Transit plays an important role in relieving congestion, and improving our quality of life,” said Secretary Mineta. “These CNG buses will help provide safe, efficient and reliable transit services while conserving energy and enhancing the environment.”

The grant awarded today, in the amount of $4,456,416, will be used to purchase fourteen 40-ft., low-floor, CNG buses. The buses will be used to provide transit service on bus lines within the LACMTA’s service area, which includes the following regions: North Los Angeles County; San Fernando Valley, Burbank and Glendale; West and Central Los Angeles; Downtown Los Angeles; East Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley, and South Los Angeles and Long Beach. Additionally, the low floor feature of these buses will make boarding the bus easier for all riders.

CNG buses use clean-burning compressed natural gas, which contains far less pollutants than normal diesel fuel. LACMTA is a leader in the use of alternative fuel buses, with over half of its current fleet using compressed natural gas. LACMTA’s bus fleet management plan calls for a complete fleet of CNG buses by 2004. By shifting to natural gas, the LACMTA is reducing the nation’s dependence on petroleum fuel and helping to ensure that South Coast residents have cleaner air to breathe.