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RTC to Have 80% Alternative-Fuel Transit Fleet in 2021


RTC to Have 80% Alternative-Fuel Transit Fleet in 2021

 

 

Reno, Nevada (February 9, 2021) – The Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) of Washoe County’s transit fleet is getting better for the environment as the RTC Board continues to make clean transportation a priority in our community. The RTC is set to add an additional 19 new buses to its fleet during the month of February.

 

Seventeen of the 19 new buses are New Flyer Hybrid electric/biodiesel buses and two buses will be Proterra electric buses. Some of the hybrid buses are already running as part of RTC's transit system. The two Proterra all-electric buses will debut on the RTC's extended RAPID Virginia Line when it launches in early March 2021.

 

The hybrid buses will replace aging, end-of-life vehicles. When all of the new buses are deployed, 55 out of the 68 buses in RTC's fleet, or more than 80%, will be hybrid or electric alternative-fuel vehicles. The RTC's goal is to have an all-alternative-fuel fleet by 2035. The RTC used federal funds to purchase the buses.

 

The RTC is committed to improving sustainability across the agency and throughout our community. Since 2010, the RTC has reduced total facility energy use by 25%, reduced criteria air pollutants per unlinked passenger trip by 13.1%, and increased our recycling rate to approximately 33%.

 

There are a variety of benefits to taking public transportation. For example, if you take a bus, you help reduce greenhouse gas emissions into our environment, which helps promote better air quality in the Truckee Meadows. In addition, public transportation can ease traffic, reduce congestion, and save energy and fuel.

 

In July 2017, the RTC Board formally adopted its award-winning Sustainability Plan as the guiding document on the future of sustainability for the agency. This plan identifies the existing transportation and operational sustainability measures undertaken by the RTC and establishes goals to continue to reduce fuel consumption, improve air quality, and further minimize the carbon footprint of RTC operational activities.

 

Learn more at rtcwashoe.com.