COUNTYWIDE : New Bus Engines to Cut Air Pollution

Transit officials hope that new engines installed in buses will help preserve the ozone layer, reduce cancer-causing emissions and save money.

South Coast Area Transit officials say a new engine retrofitting plan and a Freon recovery system for bus air conditioners are examples of cost-effective and environmentally aware programs now being developed.

Maureen Lopez, a transit official, said 11 buses have been retrofitted with cleaner burning engines that reduce emissions known to cause cancer by nearly one-third. She said the agency has managed to save $138,000 by avoiding the purchase of new buses.

She said the new engines, which will give the 12-year-old buses an added five years of operation, work very well and will help reduce air pollution.

In addition, Lopez said, the agency has introduced a Freon recovery system that captures hydrocarbons that escape during maintenance work on air conditioners. The hydrocarbons are known to damage the Earth’s ozone layer, which filters out harmful solar radiation.

Lopez said the system “is not intended to be cost-effective,” but health-conscious.

Additional environmental programs include a bus wash system that recycles 60% of the water and five methanol-fueled staff vehicles.

The transit district will hold an open house with elected officials at 10 a.m. Wednesday to demonstrate how public transit helps protect the environment, Lopez said. The agency serves Oxnard, Ventura, Port Hueneme, Ojai, Santa Paula and unincorporated areas in between.