The idea was to stop buying buses powered by diesel fuel by 2022.
Since then, the transit agency has deployed just eight electric buses. A proposal to spend $122 million for 143 new biodiesel buses will be considered by the Metropolitan Council next week. The deal represents about 15% of Metro Transit s fleet of 900 buses.
This has exasperated many groups that applauded Metro Transit s commitment to electric buses three years ago. Every new diesel bus locks us into a minimum of 12 more years of dirty exhaust, climate pollution and reliance on imported fossil fuel, said Joshua Houdek, senior program manager at the Sierra Club North Star Chapter. We should be transitioning to clean electric buses now.