Sixty new electric buses to join MTA fleet in Queens, other boroughs
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The MTA announced the addition of 60 zero emissions buses to their fleet, many of which will be used on Queens routes. Marc A. Hermann / MTA
By Ryan Schwach
Electric, zero emissions buses are coming to Queens with the addition of 60 new buses to the city’s fleet, officials announced on Tuesday.
MTA officials and local electeds announced the introduction of the 60 new buses, which will run routes in Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island, from the Grand Avenue Bus Depot in Western Queens on Tuesday.
The buses will join the MTA’s 15 existing zero emission buses currently operating in Manhattan, and go toward the agency’s goal of going entirely electric with their buses by 2024.
“I always say mass transit is the antidote to climate change,” MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieer said. “Zero emission buses are key to our ability to improve air quality. They help reduce harmful pollutants and create better public health outcomes.”
Officials say the buses will run through historically disadvantaged communities that are often plagued with bad air quality and other climate issues disproportionately when compared to whiter and wealthier neighborhoods.
“They've struggled disproportionately with the impacts of bad air quality we talk about all the time, high rates of asthma, other bad health outcomes, and it's one of the reasons that we want to put the zero emissions buses first into those historically disadvantaged communities,” said Lieber.
No one appeared happier about the announcement than Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, who called the 60 new buses a massive victory for the borough.
“For generations, unchecked fossil fuel use has had disastrous impacts on our communities,” he said. “And of course, as we often see, whenever we get torrential rains, Queens is always ground zero when it comes to climate change.”
“Electric buses means less emissions, cleaner air and a healthier borough, period,” Richards added. “They mean a more sustainable environment and a more resilient Queens that we can pass on to our future generations.”
Congressmember Nydia Velázquez also applauded the new additions to Queens’ roads.
“Today's event solidifies [the MTA’s] commitment to redesign and decarbonize public transit, to protect the environment, our driver’s health, conserve energy and offer our constituents efficient performance,” she said.
At the bus depot, the MTA also installed 17 new bus charging points that will be used to power the buses.
The MTA said the 60 buses will be put into service by the end of the year, and that they expect to start receiving their next order of 205 electric buses in late 2025.
