When the L train closes in 2019, Bushwick’s straphangers will be scrambling for a new mode of travel. We’ve covered several alternatives, but the truth of the matter is that most of us will be packed onto already-full buses.
Buses, though, are not necessarily the cleanest form of transportation. They are certainly more polluting than trains, and right now, no electric buses exist in New York City’s fleet.
Council members Rafael Espinal and Stephen Levin officially released plans to call on the MTA to expedite the process of switching over to an electric bus fleet and lessening the mode of transportation’s impact on the environment.
In a press release the council members said that “this trying time when bus ridership will experience an uptick, presents a unique opportunity to green the city’s public transportation options, and reduce reliance on transportation, which contributes to carbon emissions and climate change.”
New vehicles represent a huge investment for organizations like the MTA, and new purchases have to be made far in advance. According to the NY Daily News the MTA’s fleet of buses consumes 50 million gallons of diesel fuel annually.
Who knows if there’s enough time or money to begin upgrading the fleet, but the cause is noble, and electric and hyrbid bus fleets are common in other big cities like Chicago.