EMBARK, a transportation services agency serving the Oklahoma City metro area, formerly known as Metro Transit, will use approximately $2 million in federal grants to buy six new compressed natural gas (CNG) buses, according to a recent report from the Oklahoman.
As reported, this grant is part of the Federal Transportation Administration’s Bus Replacement Program.
“This grant will allow EMBARK to replace some of our oldest vehicles that are at least 12 years old with clean energy vehicles, which will help protect our community’s air quality,” EMBARK Administrator Jason Ferbrache says in a statement. “EMBARK’s goal is to transition all of our buses to alternative fuels – the majority being CNG – and this grant helps us get closer to that goal.”
The report notes that EMBARK’s governing body, the Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority, approved plans earlier this year to replace the entire bus fleet with CNG or electric buses by 2025.
Moreover, EMBARK has also announced plans to install at least two CNG fast-fill dispensers and 30 time-fill dispensers at its operations and maintenance facility. The report notes that the new CNG fueling facility is expected to begin operations in early 2018.
All in all, EMBARK is expected to have more than 75 CNG vehicles in its fleet by 2025.
