Out with diesel, in with CNG: Federal grant fuels new natural gas buses for Jacksonville
A federal grant is fueling the Jacksonville Transportation Authority's efforts to trade up to cleaner compressed natural gas buses and mothball some older diesel units as well.
The $15.4 million U.S. Department of Transportation Low or No Emissions Buses and Bus Facilities Grant will lead to 21 new CNG buses, with the federal funds boosted by about $6 million in local match dollars, the authority said.
“The JTA will continue to advance sustainability efforts by phasing out more diesel buses with vehicles powered by cleaner compressed natural gas,” Chief Executive Officer Nathaniel Ford said. “We also will leverage this funding to invest in the future with infrastructure to support and integrate more electric-powered buses into our fleet.”
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The JTA said it will retire diesel buses that have "reached or exceeded their useful life" and begin replacing them in late 2024 with the CNG-powered buses.
The grant helps transportation authorities replace, rehabilitate or lease buses and related equipment, the JTA said. The funds can be used to renovate or replace bus-related facilities as well. The program also provides funding to state and local authorities to buy or lease zero-emission and low-emission buses and required supporting facilities.
The JTA began phasing out diesel buses to run cheaper, cleaner compressed natural gas with the 2015 launch of the First Coast Flyer Bus Green Line. The bunow run on its First Coast Flyer rapid-transit service to downtown from the Beaches, northern neighborhoods and The Avenues mall area, as well as Blanding Boulevard to the Orange Park Mall.
The new CNG buses produce 95 percent fewer tailpipe emissions than diesel fuel, the JTA said. But JTA buses are required to remain in active service until they’ve reached useful life, which is 12 years or 500,000 miles. So the remaining 40 diesel buses could be phased out of JTA’s bus fleet by 2034.
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The authority also is operating two fully electric 40-foot buses with seats for up to 38 people, each with an estimated 150-mile range when fully charged, which takes less than six hours, officials said. The buses, $982,882 each, were ordered in 2019 with another federal Low or No Emission Grant, with help from Federal Transportation Authority Urbanized Area Formula funding.
The current JTA fleet also includes 127 CNG buses and seven hybrid diesel vehicles. The authority is working on the necessary infrastructure to support six more battery electric buses funded through Florida’s Volkswagen Settlement Program.
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The JTA additionally is working with the JEA, North Florida Clean Fuels Coalition and JAXUSA Partnership on how to transition to more sustainable and zero-emission fleets. For more information go to jtafla.com/projects/move2027.
Times-Union writer Hanna Holthaus contributed to this report.
dscanlan@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4549
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Funds mean Jacksonville can replace diesel buses with natural gas
