8/25/06
Pointing to its own successful effort to reduce emissions, Chicago Transit Authority officials praised the long-term energy plan recently announced by Governor Blagojevich. The five-part plan calls for ? among other initiatives ? a reduction in emission levels and the reduction of energy use.
The CTA seeks out opportunities to incorporate environmentally-friendly technologies and initiatives into its operations including reducing emission levels of its bus fleet.
By spearheading the use of ultra low sulfur diesel fuel and particulate filters, and continually working to upgrade its bus fleet, CTA has been able reduce annual emissions from its bus fleet. Emission levels in 2005 were 22 percent or 564 tons less than the annual emission level in 1997, even as ridership has grown by 12 percent over the same period.
CTA has begun incorporating hybrid technology into its revenue and non-revenue fleet. CTA will receive 20 diesel electric hybrid buses that are powered by both diesel engines and electric motors later this year.
"Public transportation is critical to efforts to achieve energy independence," said Chicago Transit Board Chairman Carole Brown. ?Transit reduces energy consumption ? not just for those who use transit ? but also for drivers who benefit from reduced traffic congestion."
As a public transit agency, the Chicago Transit Authority is providing assistance toward reducing the region's energy use as well as reducing emission levels. CTA provides the general public with transportation options that help reduce the region's dependency on fuel. Public transportation takes automobiles off the road by allowing residents to leave their cars at home. One full eight-car CTA train is the equivalent of 1,000 vehicles off the roads, which helps reduce fuel consumption and results in cleaner air for everyone in the region.
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