SIMI WEIGHS FUEL CHANGE FOR BUS FLEET; PLAN COULD REDUCE AIR POLLUTION.Byline: Lisa Mascaro Daily News Staff Writer The city may soon be doing its share for cleaner county skies if officials drive forward with plans to replace smog-belching diesel buses with natural gas-fueled vehicles. Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. would be the last city in Ventura County to roll out the new buses, which have been shown to emit TO EMIT. To put out; to send forth, 2. The tenth section of the first article of the constitution, contains various prohibitions, among which is the following: No state shall emit bills of credit. half as many harmful compounds as diesel engines, whose emissions researchers now believe are carcinogenic carcinogenic having a capacity for carcinogenesis. . ``It's a health issue,'' said Jerry Mason, an air-quality engineer for the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District. ``It's a problem for all of us - lung capacity in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, is about 15 percent less than people living in other parts of the country.'' The city will be following South Coast Area Transit and Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. Transit in converting its fleet to the cleaner-burning compressed natural gas Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is a substitute for gasoline (petrol) or diesel fuel. It is considered to be an environmentally "clean" alternative to those fuels. It is made by compressing natural gas (which is mainly composed by methane (CH4 buses. Under the proposal - part of the 1998-99 budget that will be discussed by the City Council beginning Monday - the transit department hopes to have nearly half its fleet replaced with new buses that are expected to be on the road by November. The plan calls for four new buses costing $1.2 million, a new $400,000 fueling facility at the transit maintenance facility on West Los Angeles
Funding, which has been a main obstacle for agencies wanting to covert their fleets, would come mostly through federal grants, with the city and the county air pollution control districts also contributing. Federal grant money would provide $1.1 million toward the buses, $354,000 toward the fueling facility and $104,000 toward the garage. The city's share would total about $193,000 and the county would contribute $30,000. City transit officials are hopeful the plan will move forward during the budget talks and are discussing plans to replace the remaining five buses in coming years. ``The City Council's been very supportive,'' said deputy director of transit Ray Turpin. ``The City Council also feels an obligation to contribute to the clean air in the county.'' |
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