El Paso's Sun Metro receives $30M through USDOT grant for low emission buses

Sun Metro is getting a little greener thanks to a little help from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The USDOT on July 9 announced a $30 million Low and No Emission grant for El Paso's Mass Transit Department. The funds will allow Sun Metro to purchase new compressed natural gas buses and install new bus canopies.

"Emissions from older diesel busses contribute to the transportation sector's disproportionate role in climate change and increase the risk of respiratory illnesses among passengers," said U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, in a news release. "Through the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the federal government is investing $30 million in our community, a critical addition to the millions already allocated to El Paso since it passed in 2021."

"I was proud to champion legislation that touches the lives of so many El Pasoans to provide cleaner, more reliable, and more economically sound public transportation," she added.

Compressed natural gas (CNG) is nothing new to Sun Metro — its entire fleet, which includes over 300 units from fixed-route buses to paratransit for the disabled and all support vehicles, is now fueled by compressed natural gas, which is cleaner than gasoline and diesel and is saving the city millions in fuel costs.

Sun Metro Chief Streetcar Officer Everett Esparza said last year that the CNG buses saved the city around $2 million in fuel costs every six months.

More: El Paso public transportation agency Sun Metro uses environmentally-friendly CNG in buses

The Low and No Emission Grant is designed to help cities across the country purchase low-emission or zero-emission transit buses and the accompanying infrastructure needed to support and house them.

"Today, 117 communities, including El Paso, are receiving the good news that their transit buses are being modernized and their commutes improved through President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a news release. "The Biden-Harris administration is helping agencies across 47 states replace old buses running on dirty, expensive fuels by delivering modern and zero-emission buses, manufactured by American workers, that will connect more people to where they need to go."

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Sun Metro receives $30M grant for low emission buses, canopies