The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) has taken delivery of the first 10 compressed natural gas (CNG) buses in a planned 200-bus project.
All of the new units will be in regular service by mid-August, according to coverage in the Salt Lake City Tribune. By the end of this year, two dozen CNG-powered buses will be on the streets, and several dozen more will come online in the next three to five years.
Right now, UTA operates 630 diesel-powered buses. Once the full complement of natural gas vehicles is rolled out, these buses will represent about a third of the metro's fleet, the agency says.
UTA first gave CNG a try in the mid-1990s, but those buses were retired within a few years and not replaced, as natural gas did not have the cost advantage relative to diesel that it currently has.
Read the full article HERE.