Metro News Release

For immediate release: April 28, 2004

Metro purchases 175 new CNG buses

Transit authority focused on cleaner modes of bus travel

Bus riders in and around the nation’s capital will have the opportunity to catch a cleaner mode of travel as the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) awarded a contract for 175 new compressed natural gas (CNG) low-floor buses this month--its third procurement of the alternative fuel buses. The Authority will continue to expand its Metrobus fleet of new clean-fuel vehicles with a fourth procurement of 75 buses expected this July, bringing its CNG count to 414 buses. The 31-year old Metrobus system currently has a fleet of 1,422 buses of which 164 are CNG. The 1,258 diesel buses all operate on ultra-low sulphur fuel. Two years ago, the WMATA Board agreed to purchase the 250 new CNG buses by the end of fiscal 2005. The current 164 CNG buses are housed at the Bladensburg Bus Division in Northeast Washington, DC. The Authority is looking to house the 175 new buses at a second retrofitted maintenance garage and fuel facility at the Four Mile Run Bus Division across the Potomac River in Arlington, VA. The next order of 75 buses will be shared between both garages. Metro’s Board of Directors, in October 2002, endorsed a $22 million proposal to install a CNG fueling facility in Arlington County, VA, and make necessary modifications to existing maintenance and service buildings so that when Metro expanded its CNG fleet, the buses would be serviceable there. Renovations to the existing facility are required for local code compliance for CNG bus operations. These renovations include enhanced ventilation and heating; new generators for backup emergency power; upgrades and the addition of doors and walls to achieve more stringent fire ratings; installation of a methane detection and control system; and installation of an emergency lighting system which requires an upgrade of various electrical components. The new buses are manufactured by Orion Bus Industries, Ltd., of Ontario, Canada, and each have a seating capacity of 41 passengers, including two locations for wheelchairs per bus. The total cost is approximately $67 million or $365,000 apiece. " We have a commitment to our customers and to the Washington Metropolitan region to provide reliable, safe, customer-friendly bus transportation," explained Jack Requa, Chief Operating Officer for Bus. " A big part of that is our commitment to improve the region’s air quality." In October 2001, Metrobus converted from standard diesel fuel to ultra-low sulphur diesel fuel and has since added exhaust after-treatment devices to further reduce particulate matter (PM) emissions. The CNG buses will produce a comparable reduction in PM, plus reduce nitrous oxide emissions by about 50 percent. The reduction in nitrous oxide will assist the region in reducing emissions in its most critical area: ozone pollution. The Washington Metropolitan region must comply with federal regulations for air quality by 2005 to remain eligible for select federal transportation funds. The introduction of Metro’s CNG buses works toward that goal of keeping vehicle emissions within a federally stated range. The new CNG Metrobuses have the same red, white and blue painted design on their exterior, however customers will know that they are riding on one of the new buses when they pull up to a bus stop because the buses have a special large roof-top configuration that makes them easy to identify. A banner along the top of the bus points out that customers are riding on a clean fuel bus. The arrival of these new buses in late 2005 continues a commitment on the part of the Metro Board to do its part to improve regional air quality, which has been labeled by the Environmental Protection Agency as at risk for being a non-attainment area as it relates to air quality. In March 2004, the WMATA Board of Directors also had a discussion on the merits of diesel-electric hybrid buses, but no decision has yet been made on any future plans to expand the bus technologies used in the Metrobus fleet.

News release issued on April 28, 2004.