OCTA Is a Leader on Gas Vehicles
Your June 18 article, “Board Bans Purchase of Diesel Buses, Trash Trucks,” accurately describes the sweeping new air quality regulations adopted by the South Coast Air Quality Management District and the benefits it will bring to the environment.
However, it failed to note that the Orange County Transportation Authority has already moved in this direction, not because we were forced to but because we believe it to be the right thing to do.
In October 1998, the OCTA board of directors voted to end future purchases of diesel buses and commit to liquefied natural gas, making OCTA the first transit district in the state to pursue 100% LNG for its standard 40-foot bus fleet.
Beginning this summer, OCTA will receive the first shipment of 232 LNG-fueled buses. When final shipment is received next summer, OCTA will have replaced half of its diesel-burning bus fleet with the low-emission LNG buses that burn approximately 60% less oxides of nitrogen.
As one of the fastest-growing transit systems in the nation, OCTA needs to operate efficiently and be as environmentally sensitive as possible.
The decision to phase out diesel in favor of LNG puts us much closer to both goals.
LAURANN COOK
OCTA chairwoman
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