El Paso Seeks Bus Earmark
El Paso Mayor Joe Wardy has recently lobbied members of U.S Congress for $12.5 million — nearly half of that would go for new city buses, Wardy has said.
Many city buses slated for conversion, retirement
03.23.04 KVIA-TV El Paso
Sun Metro has a fleet of more than 130 buses – but many are getting old, and must be replaced.
When city buses have been in service for 12 years, they are considered over the hill, said Terry Lee Scott, the general manager of Sun Metro.
Scheduled for a phase out are buses which use diesel fuel. Some will be retired from service; others will be converted with engines which use compressed natural gas.
“Within the next two to three years, there will no longer be diesel buses on the streets,” Scott said.
The conversion money would come from a $1.5 million dollar grant from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Twenty-five buses will be replaced by new ones – they’re scheduled to arrive in eight months.
Ten of the oldest vehicles will be auctioned off, “because it’s not financially feasible to continue to repair them,” Scott said. “Even if you put in new engines and transmissions, you still have the interiors and the air conditioners are just worn out.”
Scott hopes to phase out all of the old buses within the next five to seven years.
A reply to the city’s request for funding should come by the fall, Wardy said.