• Press Releases
• Reports & Notices
• Connections (TV Show)
• Performance
• Developer Center
• Going Green
  • Sustainable Transportation
  • Clean Vehicles
  • Multimodal Connections
  • Efficient Facilities
  • Resource Recycling
  • Green Grants
• Planning & Expansion
• System Improvement Projects
• @ the CTA Newsletter
• Charter a Train
• Open Data
• Open Fare System
• Public Art
• Winter Preparedness

CTA hybrid buses significantly reduce emissions compared with conventional diesel buses.

Clean Vehicles

The CTA is committed to the goal of cleaner air in the Chicago region. We've achieved significant emissions reductions from our rail, bus and support fleets through advanced vehicle technologies and alternative fuel sources.

On this page...

• Trains
• Buses
• Support Vehicles
• Video: Hybrid Buses

 Trains

CTA’s fleet of about 1,200 rail cars carries about one-third of all CTA rides.

• Electric rail is a highly efficient motorized transport mode, operating on low-friction steel rails.
• CTA has begun putting a brand new family of ‘L’ cars into service. These railcars, known as the "5000-series, are equipped with an innovative braking system that can transfer electricity back to the third rail, supplementing power to nearby CTA trains. 

 Buses

The CTA maintains a fleet of about 1,800 buses, which carry about two-thirds of all CTA rides. We are continuing to increase the energy efficiency of our bus fleet and reduce emissions.

• Between 2007 and 2011, emissions of key pollutants from CTA’s bus fleet decreased by the following amounts:
  • Nitrogen oxides: 36 percent reduction
  • Hydrocarbons: 82 percent reduction
  • Carbon monoxide: 55 percent reduction
  • Particulate matter: 53 percent reduction

• We converted our entire bus fleet to ultra-low sulfur diesel in March 2003, well before the US Environmental Protection Agency mandated its use in October 2006.
• In early 2007, CTA began receiving the first of 20 diesel-electric 40-foot hybrid buses, and by the end of 2009 we had received more than 200 60-foot articulated hybrid buses.  Hybrid buses achieve at least 20 percent greater fuel efficiency than standard diesel buses.
• All buses delivered since 2007 have clean-diesel engines and particulate filters that meet EPA emissions standards.
• We are taking steps to reduce bus engine idling while maintaining customer comfort and operator safety.  We were recently awarded a federal grant for outdoor power cords to plug into 60-foot hybrid buses during cold weather. The power will allow buses to warm up without having to idle the engines.
• In 2011, CTA received a $2.2 million federal grant for the purchase of two all-electric buses. CTA will test the 35-40 foot electric buses for approximately one year.  Much like electric cars, lithium-ion batteries will power the electric buses, which produce zero tailpipe emissions.
• Also in 2011, CTA received Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ) grants under the 2012-2016 program for installing two bus fuel efficiency technologies: $900,000 for Topodyne transmission software and $6.2 million for all-electric cooling fans.

 Support Vehicles

CTA maintains a fleet of support vehicles which are used to monitor bus performance, transport materials, and maintain our vehicles and properties. Our ongoing purchase of low-emissions support vehicles earned an Illinois Green Fleets designation from the Illinois EPA in 2002, and between 2008 and 2011 we have increased our fuel efficiency every year.

• CTA’s support fleet includes the following:
  • Hybrid-electric SUVs, sedans, and pickup trucks
  • Vehicles that can run on E-85 fuel, a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline
  • Vehicles that run on clean-burning compressed natural gas (CNG)

 Video: Hybrid Buses