Contacts: Sean Crowley, 202-572-3331, scrowley@edf.org  
Kathryn Phillips, 916-893-8494, kphillips@edf.org  

California, Midwest Would Gain Jobs from Greater Government Investment in Green Transit Buses
Timely Study Coincides with Congressional Debate over Transportation Bill Extension

(Washington, DC - October 26, 2009) Increasing government investment in conventional and green transit bus systems would create high-quality manufacturing jobs, especially in states with double-digit unemployment rates, while significantly cutting auto-related global warming pollution, according to a new report released today. The high unemployment states include: California (12.2%), Indiana (10%), Michigan (15.3%), and Ohio (10.1%).

The study is timely because Congress is debating renewal of the federal transportation bill, which provides funds to help local bus systems purchase equipment. The current transportation bill expired in September, but was extended until later this month, and is expected to be extended longer as Congress continues developing the renewed bill.

Current U.S. transportation policy favors highway spending and deemphasizes public transit, so bus orders are small and sporadic, making it difficult for the bus industry to grow, according to the study. "If federal, state, and local policy were to shift to a clear, sustained commitment to public transit, the nation would have the manufacturing capability to meet the resulting increased demand for transit buses," the study concludes.

Entitled "Public Transit Buses: A Green Choice Gets Greener," the study is the 12th installment of the series, "Manufacturing Climate Solutions: Carbon-Reducing Technologies and U.S. Jobs," prepared by researchers at the Duke University Center on Globalization, Governance & Competitiveness and sponsored by Environmental Defense Fund.

While domestic uncertainty about transit funding stymies bus manufacturing for U.S. markets, the study notes that U.S. companies still have managed to establish themselves as global leaders in hybrid bus manufacturing. However, European firms are rapidly catching up, in part because of their governments' long-term commitment to public transit.

The United States was an early leader of compressed natural gas (CNG) transit bus technology development, the most common type of green bus worldwide, and already has an extensive refueling infrastructure for CNG, with CNG pipelines connecting the entire continental United States. Bus fleets throughout the United States have incorporated CNG, including the Los Angeles Transit Authority, which operates 2,200 CNG buses, comprising 88 percent of its fleet. However, diesel-electric hybrid buses are rapidly overtaking CNG as the primary green bus option in the United States.

Early testing for hydrogen-electric hybrids is ongoing in California, at Sunline Transit, Santa Barbara Valley Transit Authority and AC Transit, and in Connecticut at CTTRANSIT. Proterra, a firm developing an electric hybrid transit bus, plans by June 2010 to have infrastructure in place for the Foothills Transit Agency, operating in the San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys in California, with four more cities to come online afterwards.

U.S. manufacturing for transit buses and components is located in nearly every state in the eastern United States, with the highest concentrations in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

"Many of these jobs are in Midwestern states deeply affected by the recession, where manufacturing employment and capacity, especially in the motor vehicle industry, are crucial for maintaining a leadership position throughout the recovery period and beyond," said Marcy Lowe, lead author of the study and a research associate at the Duke University Center on Globalization, Governance & Competitiveness. "Many of these transit jobs are high-quality, long-term positions."

Other studies have identified transit as an important component for reducing both air and global warming pollution because it provides commuters an alternative to single-passenger vehicles.

"We've known for awhile that transit is good for the environment," said Kathryn Phillips, a transportation policy expert with Environmental Defense Fund based in Sacramento. "This study shows that transit investment also is good for the American manufacturers and American jobs."

"We need a 21st Century transportation policy that is smarter, safer, cleaner and provides more options," said James Corless, director of Transportation for America. "Investing in green transit will help achieve that new direction and create good-paying American jobs at a time when we desperately need them."

The number of commuters using public transit to go to work increased from nearly six million in 2004 to 6.8 million in 2007. When gasoline prices soared in 2008, U.S. public transit use increased even more sharply, although official figures are not yet available. Buses are the main U.S. transit mode, accounting for 40 percent of all transit passenger miles.

Continuing growth in transit demand could translate into larger and more consistent bus orders. However, domestic demand is heavily dependent on the availability of public funding for bus transit, an inherent constraint that is naturally worsened by the current economic recession. Bus manufacturers in the United States primarily manufacture on a built-to-order basis.

"Public transit spending is not sufficiently steady or reliable to encourage growth in the industry," the report notes. "Firms may receive increased orders only to see them fall in subsequent years when funding levels drop and demand has already been satisfied. Many agencies can no longer meet federal financing formulas that require a local funding match of 20 percent."

"Increasing government investment in bus transit systems could be our generations' Works Progress Administration in terms of its economic and environmental impact," concluded Phillips. "This report shows we have a great opportunity to create new manufacturing jobs during tough economic times and cut greenhouse gas emissions. We only need the political will to make it happen."

To read the study, please visit http://www.edf.org/documents/10492_CGGC_Transit_bus_ch12.pdf.

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Environmental Defense Fund, a leading national nonprofit organization, represents more than 700,000 members. Since 1967, Environmental Defense Fund has linked science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships to create breakthrough solutions to the most serious environmental problems. For more information about transit issues, visit www.edf.org/transit.
 

Contacts:
Tony Kreindler, National Media Director, Climate, 202-445-8108, tkreindler@edf.org
Vickie Patton, Deputy General Counsel, 720-837-6239, vpatton@edf.org

Public Hearings Convene on First U.S. Greenhouse Gas Pollution Standards

New Car Standards Will Strengthen Nation's Security While Reducing Pollution

(Washington – October 20, 2009) Public hearings commence this week on the nation's first greenhouse gas pollution standards. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Transportation (DOT) officials will hear public testimony on proposed new historic fuel economy benchmarks and national greenhouse gas emissions limits for passenger vehicles: October 21st in Detroit, October 23rd in New York City, and October 27th in Los Angeles. For more information on the public hearings, click here. 

"This bold initiative begins to break our nation's addiction to foreign oil while reducing dangerous global warming pollution," said Vickie Patton, Deputy General Counsel, Environmental Defense Fund. "The President forged this landmark agreement with car companies, labor, states, and environmentalists to provide a safe, secure and prosperous future for our kids."

The national proposal responds to a 2007 U.S. Supreme Court mandate and will carry out President Obama's landmark May 19th accord with major automakers, the Governor of California, the United Auto Workers Union, and environmentalists. Passenger cars and light-trucks emit nearly 20 percent of the nation's greenhouse gases in the form of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and hydrofluorocarbons. In April, EPA provisionally found that these four contaminants and two other greenhouse gases endanger human health and welfare.

The proposed standards from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation would apply to new model year 2012 to 2016 vehicles. Benefits include:

• Breaking Our Oil Addiction, Strengthening National Security. The vehicles subject to these proposed standards are responsible for about 40 percent of all U.S. oil consumption. The standards would reduce our consumption of oil by 1.8 billion barrels while achieving a 5 percent annual improvement in fuel efficiency for the nation's passenger vehicle fleet.
• Reducing Global Warming Pollution. The vehicles covered by the proposed standards account for 60 percent of heat-trapping emissions from the transportation sector and about 20 percent of all U.S. heat-trapping gases. These emissions have increased by more than one percent annually. The proposal would cut carbon dioxide pollution from passenger vehicles approximately 21 percent by 2030, reducing emissions by 950 million tons.
• Saving Families Money at the Pump. The proposed standards will provide dividends in fuel savings at the pump for America's families. Families who finance a new vehicle purchase will save an estimated $12 to $14 per month over the duration of the loan. The estimated overall cost savings over the life of the vehicle are more than $3,000.

The proposed standards can be met with today's technology. In a 2008 Bush-era report, EPA staff experts analyzed technologies to reduce greenhouse gases from passenger cars and light trucks (See EPA Staff Technical Report: Cost and Effectiveness Estimates of Technologies Used to Reduce Light-duty Vehicle Carbon Dioxide Emissions, EPA 420-R-08-008, March 2008.)

Produced for the National Research Council, the report identified more than two dozen technologies in production or impending that can be deployed to cut greenhouse gases and improve fuel economy. The bottom line: "EPA technical staff concludes there are a large number of technologies which can be applied to cars and trucks that are capable of achieving significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, and improve vehicle fuel economy, at reasonable costs."

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Environmental Defense Fund, a leading national nonprofit organization, represents more than 700,000 members. Since 1967, Environmental Defense Fund has linked science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships to create breakthrough solutions to the most serious environmental problems. For more information, visit www.edf.org.
 

• Chicago, Illinois:  The McDonald's CycleCenter is an essential part of MillenniumPark, with 300 secure indoor parking spaces for bicycles, showers, lockers, bike repair services and solar panels.
• Connecticut: Statewide van pool service for commuters that offers more than 300 routes transporting 3,000 riders daily and even goes into New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.
• *Kings County, California: Van pool service that ensures access to schools, jobs and medical services and reduces air pollution in this heavily polluted, yet very rural San JoaquinValley.
• *Los Angeles, California: Bus rapid transit that connects the residents and employment centers of San Fernando Valley with the end point of LA's main highway in North Hollywood, and reduces traffic.
• *Manassas/Prince William County, Virginia: Flexible bus route system that uses modern global positioning technology (GPS) to pick up passengers up to ¾ mile off route in this exurban area.
• *Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota: Operating on highway shoulders reconstructed for bus use, Metro Transit riders can safely zip past stalled traffic, saving people time and frustration.
• Mobile, Alabama: Shuttle service that picks up people at home and brings them downtown and back.
• *Orlando, Florida: Bus rapid transit system that has helped spur development of five new downtown office buildings (each 1 million square feet) and six new apartment communities.
• Eugene, Oregon: The bus rapid transit line called EmX features hybrid buses with a dedicated bus lane and a partnership with local universities and schools to provide low-cost service to students.
• Portland, Oregon: Streetcar system serves 13,000 riders daily, cutting traffic, pollution and spurring economic development and a new local industry manufacturing streetcars at Oregon Iron Works.