[Wattleigh]

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/new...n-19395431.php

Metro finding shift to electric or hydrogen buses an uphill effort, buys more diesel

By Dug Begley,
Staff writer
April 12, 2024

Less than three years after pledging to buy only zero-emission vehicles by 2030, Houston transit officials are finding the road to electric- or hydrogen-powered buses a little bumpier than expected.

“2030 is going to be very difficult to adhere to,” said Tom Jasien, interim CEO of the Metropolitan Transit Authority, or Metro.

Meanwhile, 100 new diesel buses will hit Houston streets in the coming months, transit officials said, as reliability trumps sustainability — for now.

Calling the commitment Metro’s board made in August 2021 “aspirational,” Jasien noted the delays in the agency receiving its first 20 electric buses, slower-than-expected development of other technologies such as hydrogen and recycled natural gas and Metro’s own ability to fuel and power new buses as long-established and lingering issues.

“It has been a challenge from day one,” Jasien acknowledged. “And it really has not gone away.”