DC environmental groups ask WMATA to electrify its bus fleet

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) operates the nation’s sixth-largest commuter bus fleet, with more than 1,500 buses making 130 million trips per year in DC, MD and VA. Hundreds of thousands of the region’s residents benefit from the accessibility of these buses, including children, who, before the COVID-19 pandemic, rode them to and from school.

But these buses come at an environmental and public health cost to the region. WMATA’s buses run on compressed natural gas (CNG), diesel and a combination of diesel and electricity in hybrids. Buses that are powered by fossil fuels emit large amounts of toxic pollution into the air, producing smog, which is highly irritating to the lungs and triggers asthma attacks. 1 in 5 children in DC has asthma, one of the highest rates in the country. Additionally, transportation accounts for more around 22% of the carbon pollution in DC.

Sixteen regional environmental groups are calling for WMATA to help DC meet its climate goals by electrifying all of its 1,500 bus fleet by 2045. A Vision for Climate Leadership in DC, a report recently published by the group, lays out a case for the environmental, public health, and financial benefits of going electric.

DC is putting progressive policies in place to address climate change

DC was already taking some important steps to address climate pollution from vehicles. In 2018, the District passed the Clean Energy DC Act, one of the most ambitious pieces of climate legislation passed in the US to date. Aligning with and supporting the Mayor’s stated goal for the city to become carbon neutral by the year 2050, it establishes an ambitious suite of climate policies that require Washington DC to get 100% of its electricity from renewable resources by 2032, strengthen energy efficiency standards for buildings, and fully electrify public transit and private fleets by 2045.

And over the summer, DC signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with 15 states, in which it committed to making 30% of any new medium and heavy-duty vehicles (i.e. trucks and buses) zero-emission by 2030, and 100% of newly-purchased vehicles zero-emission by 2050. This plan applies to all vehicles purchased, not just the municipal fleet.

Together, the Clean Energy DC Act and the Multi-State Medium and Heavy-Duty Zero Emission Vehicle Memorandum of Understanding represent two very important initiatives that will help protect DC area families’ health, as well as eliminate climate pollution from vehicles. However, WMATA’s plans for its bus fleet are directly at odds with the District’s goal of electrifying its public transit fleets.

WMATA’s bus fleet is behind its peers in electrification

Last updated in 2017, WMATA’s Metrobus fleet management plan directs a move away from the diesel-electric hybrid buses that currently make up about half of its fleet, and orders the purchase of 100 new diesel and CNG-powered buses between 2020 and 2025.

This step will put DC behind other cities that have committed to aggressively electrifying their fleets within the next 10-20 years, including Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and Seattle.

Los Angeles has committed to electrifying its entire fleet of buses by 2030. New York, Chicago, and King County, Washington have all committed to electrifying their bus fleets by 2040.

While WMATA does plan to pilot 14 electric buses in 2021, environmentalists say the agency can take bolder action with its fleet.

How would electric buses help?

Electrifying WMATA buses would benefit the environment and the region in a lot of ways, according to the report:

• Save WMATA at least $350 million over the lifetime of the fleet at 50% electric buses, with those savings increasing with increasing electrification
• Reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by more than 58,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year by 2030 when 50% of the fleet is electrified under the Clean Energy DC Act, with reductions increasing as the fleet electrifies and the electric grid incorporates more clean energy
• Improve air quality and public health for Washington DC area residents served by WMATA’s fleet, saving those residents more than $8 million per year in healthcare costs once the fleet is fully electrified.
• The move to an electric bus fleet could also have an important positive impact on children’s academic performance.

What’s next?

The groups involved with this initiative collected and recently submitted nearly 100 sets of comments to the WMATA board in order to start a conversation about fleet electrification, and will continue to look for ways to engage WMATA on this issue.

The request for WMATA to electrify its bus fleet must be considered in context with the transit agency’s current financial situation. WMATA is facing a $494.5 million deficit, and recently announced a plan to implement major service cuts if Congress does not provide relief in the form of stimulus. Clearly the Washington region needs a transit system that is well funded so that it can continue to do its most basic job of moving people around in a safe and reliable manner.

That being said, WMATA plays an important role in the environmental, as well as the economic wellbeing of the region. Until WMATA is willing to start the process of electrifying its bus fleet by making a public commitment to do so, much needed change will not take place.

And help could be coming to WMATA in the near future. Last week a bi-partisan group of Senators proposed a compromise COVID-19 relief plan that they hope can pass during the Lame Duck session. That plan includes some funding for cash-strapped transit agencies. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, President-elect Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan contains a proposal to electrify the nation’s transit bus fleet, including a goal that all new, American-built buses will be zero-emission by 2030, along with the promise to “provide every American city with 100,000 or more residents with high-quality, zero-emissions public transportation options through flexible federal investments.”

Cities across the nation are already moving toward electric transit bus fleets as a critical step in addressing the climate crisis. A commitment by WMATA to transition its bus fleet to electric, followed by a plan of action, could help the agency be better prepared if and when federal funding starts to flow. It would also help DC reach its climate goals.