ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Soon, people who ride buses from the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority will be doing so in an environment-friendly fashion.
On Wednesday, Nov. 1, PSTA and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection will unveil a fleet of new zero-emission electric buses in St. Petersburg.
These new buses are planned to replace dozens of soon-to-be-retired diesel buses in the near future with the goal of putting 14 new electric buses on the road by the end of this year and a total of 60 over the next three years, PSTA said in a news release.
The funding for the electric buses comes after Volkswagen paid billions of dollars in government penalties when the company was accused of cheating on emissions tests for its cars since 2015, the news release mentioned. PSTA says it was able to secure $18 million of that settlement fee through FDEP.
“Volkswagen lied and pumped extra pollution into Florida’s air, so they had to pay up," PSTA CEO Brad Miller said in a statement. "We went after a share of that money to reduce future pollution and continue PSTA’s leadership in sustainability."
Those in attendance at the upcoming unveiling will see two of the zero-emission buses next to storage tanks to see how much diesel fuel pollution is projected to be saved every year by replacing the old buses.
"Electric buses improve life globally—each one cuts carbon emissions that cause climate change by 135 tons per year—and also improve life locally: they cost $20,000 per year less to operate, make far less noise, and don’t force pedestrians to face clouds of exhaust along sidewalks," PSTA said in a statement. "PSTA already operates Florida’s largest fleet of hybrid-electric vehicles, with more than 80 hybrid buses in its fleet."
The unveiling will begin at 1 p.m. at the Fuel Storage Complex at PSTA Headquarters.
