The Metro Board of Directors on Thursday approved a bold, comprehensive Moving Beyond Sustainability plan for the region.
Moving Beyond Sustainability (MBS) outlines a comprehensive sustainability strategy for the next decade to make Metro facilities greener, reduce air pollution and trash from construction and reduce smog and greenhouse gases across L.A. County.
There three pages from the report neatly summarize the goals to lower greenhouse gas emissions responsible for climate change, make construction greener and use less energy and water:
“Transportation is not merely the biggest source of air pollution in our state — it’s one of our greatest opportunities to turn the tides of the climate crisis and reverse generations of inequities found at the heart of our communities,” said Los Angeles Mayor and Metro Board Chair Eric Garcetti. “Metro’s Moving Beyond Sustainability plan is only a first step, and we will keep working to build on this foundation and accelerate our ambitions toward a more sustainable and just future.”
MBS builds on more than a decade of forward-thinking Metro sustainability policies dating back to 2008. Among the plan’s specific goals are the transition from compressed natural buses to a 100 percent electric bus fleet by 2030. This transition has already begun with the deployment of the agency’s first electric bus on the G Line (Orange) and conversion of the J Line (Sliver) planned for 2021. Additionally, the plan calls for tripling Metro’s on-site renewable energy generation by 2030, reducing total green house gas emissions by 79 percent and reducing total nitrogen oxides emissions by 54 percent.
Metro’s day-to-day operations help advance sustainability by taking cars off the road and getting people onto transit. The Metro system accelerates environmental benefits in the region by reducing far more greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than we generate by providing alternatives to driving alone.
“Metro is leading a bold movement to reimagine L.A. County: one that expands mobility, increases access to opportunities and increases environmental stewardship,” said Metro CEO Phillip A. Washington. “We are thoughtfully and strategically moving forward to combat climate change and reduce L.A. County’s carbon footprint. In addition to our role in reducing single-occupancy vehicle emissions, we are on track to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 79 percent from 2017 levels through fleet electrification and system retrofits by 2030.”
MBS is Metro’s most comprehensive sustainability planning document to date and is designed to align with and support parallel efforts and plans underway at L.A. County and the city of Los Angeles, including the city’s Green New Deal and Our County. Actions taken by Metro will be reviewed annually to determine what, if any, new actions are needed.
“Moving Beyond Sustainability is our call to action,” said Cris Liban, Metro’s Chief Sustainability Officer. “We are creating sustainable transportation solutions in L.A. County to advance regional prosperity and equity. This plan does more than set ambitious goals – we are extending our hand to all Angelenos to help us do more than what is merely sustainable. We can build a transportation system that is innovative, sustainable and increases access to opportunity for everyone.”
Categories: Policy & Funding, Projects
Again it seems Buses on the Transportation side are the focus as to achieve a greener planet disregarding the huge fleet on non revenue equipment the MTA operates. Electric autos and trucks have already been proven to be reliable yet we do not see any procured while at the same time the MTA has entered into another experiment with electric buses they may or may not be reliable. There are a fleet of buses at Division 12 that saw service less than five years before the MTA discarded them because that experiment did not work. Is Division 10 closed so a larger facility can be used for fail experiments? Money is now in short supply and increased subsidies may not be abundant in the future. Is it really prudent to continue on with experimental exercises when proven technology is at hand and not utilized?
So, with the rest of MTA’s fleet: Aren’t most of the cars already hybrid? The heavy tow trucks, are they available in CNG yet? and what is their lifecycle (when will they get replaced?) The field maintenance trucks, again lifecycle, and they can be CNG.
And let’s do some math (if you can find the numbers) what is the pound-miles pre-annum for the non-revenue fleet (how much does the vehicle weigh [wet weight] times number of miles driven in the year) and what is that number for the rubber tire revenue fleet. I bet it is 10 to 1 or better in favour of the revenue fleet. The 2035 state mandate will be easy to meet on the cars. Even many of the fleet service vehicles will make that easy enough. But buses because of their longer range needs will be harder to meet without recharging at the end of the runs. Working on those first is important.
The waste collection industry is already looking at that with regards to heavy trucks. NY and LA are leading the way for big cities. LA MTA and NY MTA should be doing that for transit buses.