King County Metro enjoys the benefit of lower fuel costs from buying electric buses. Josh Cohen argues that it's time for Sound Transit to get on board.
Diesel exhaust is one of the main toxic pollutants in the Seattle area, and Josh Cohen argues that it's time for Sound Transit to start the transaction to fully electric buses. "Sound Transit, which operates 307 buses throughout the region along with its light rail system, has no all-electric buses, nor any immediate plans to purchase them," Cohen writes for Crosscut.
Other transit agencies have already begun using all electric vehicles in their fleets. "King County Metro is leading the charge with 11 battery electric buses in operation on two routes in Redmond and Bellevue. The agency plans to buy 120 more by 2020, on its way to meeting a goal of being fully electric by 2040," Cohen writes. Everett and Peirce Transit have also already purchased all electric vehicles.
Besides the fumes, there's also maintenance costs to contend with. Advocates argue that over the life of an electric bus, it will save transit agencies money. While the initial cost of electric buses is still higher than that of diesel buses, the difference operational costs, fuel costs and maintenance costs can make up that difference and more over the life of a bus.
FULL STORY: As other agencies launch electric buses, Sound Transit stalls
Seattle to Introduce Electric Buses With Wireless Charging
In-ground induction chargers will reduce the cost of the charging network.
Seattle-Area Light Rail Breaks Ridership Record, Again
Thanks to a new extension and reorganized connecting bus lines, the Link light rail system topped 3 million rides in October.
West Seattle Link Expansion Could Cost $7 Billion
Sound Transit is moving forward with a proposed route despite severe cost overruns, throwing other major rail projects into question.
Florida Considers Legalizing ADUs
Current state law allows — but doesn’t require — cities to permit accessory dwelling units in single-family residential neighborhoods.
HUD Announces Plan to Build Housing on Public Lands
The agency will identify federally owned parcels appropriate for housing development and streamline the regulatory process to lease or transfer land to housing authorities and nonprofit developers.
Has President Trump Met His Match?
Doug Ford, the no-nonsense premier of Canada's most populous province, Ontario, is taking on Trump where it hurts — making American energy more expensive.
OKC Approves 7.2 Miles of New Bike Lanes
The city council is implementing its BikeWalkOKC plan, which recommends new bike lanes on key east-west corridors.
Preserving Houston’s ‘Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing’
Unsubsidized, low-cost rental housing is a significant source of affordable housing for Houston households, but the supply is declining as units fall into disrepair or are redeveloped into more expensive units.
The Most Popular Tree on Google?
Meet Rodney: the Toronto tree getting rave reviews.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Florida Atlantic University
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
City of Piedmont, CA
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
City of Cambridge, Maryland