{"id":72376,"date":"2025-12-02T03:19:29","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T03:19:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/72376\/"},"modified":"2025-12-02T03:19:29","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T03:19:29","slug":"metros-100m-federal-grant-could-reduce-bus-pollution-by-up-to-98","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/72376\/","title":{"rendered":"METRO\u2019s $100M federal grant could reduce bus pollution by up to 98%"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County was awarded more than $100 million in federal funding for several low-emission initiatives<\/a> aimed at significantly improving air quality across METRO\u2019s service area.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis funding represents a major step in our effort to transition METRO\u2019s fleet to cleaner, more fuel-efficient vehicles,\u201d interim President Tom Jasien said in a Nov. 24 news release. \u201cThese improvements will strengthen our commitment to sustainability while ensuring we continue to deliver reliable service for the Houston region.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zooming in<\/p>\n

METRO officials said the $100 million grant will allow for the following projects to be completed:<\/p>\n

Replacing at least 100 aging diesel buses with new compressed natural gas busesBuilding a new CNG fueling stationUpgrading maintenance facilities to support expanded CNG operationsThe new CNG bus fleet, according to METRO officials, will improve air quality across METRO\u2019s service area by reducing up to 98% of harmful pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. Communities near high-traffic corridors with populations susceptible to harmful pollutants will benefit, according to METRO.<\/p>\n

The need<\/p>\n

The Houston-Pasadena region ranked No. 7<\/a> out of 228 metropolitan areas on the American Lung Association\u2019s most polluted cities by ozone, according to its 2025 State of the Air report<\/a> released April 23.<\/a> High ozone levels can lead to a range of negative health effects, according to Houston-based environmental nonprofit Air Alliance, and can worsen conditions such as bronchitis and asthma.<\/p>\n

Harris County was one of 10 Texas counties that did not meet the Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s 2020-22 federal air quality monitoring levels, as previously reported in Community Impact<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The big picture<\/p>\n

METRO was selected as one of the transportation agencies across the country to receive grant funding as part of the Federal Transit Administration\u2019s $2 billion initiative called the Low or No Emission Grant Program.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese grants will strengthen connections between communities, boost bus safety and reliability, and enhance mobility and quality of life for passengers,\u201d FTA Administrator Marc Molinaro said in a Nov. 20 news release<\/a>.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County was awarded more than $100 million in federal funding for several…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":72377,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[56,58,57,5761,36194,36193,36195],"class_list":["post-72376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news","tag-metro","tag-metro-news","tag-metropolitan-transit-authority-of-harris-county","tag-transportation-news-houston"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72376"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72376\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}