Coast Transit Authority to switch all buses to electric and propane

Since 2004 Coast Transit Authority has made an effort to make public transportation even more sustainable. 

It started with propane-fueled buses…

“The benefit is two things. One, the emissions are around 30% cleaner than the traditional gasoline on that same vehicle, and the second thing is cost,” said Mark Denton, Blossman Gas Vice President. ” So, where we are in Gulfport, gas is about $3.29 a gallon. Propane is about $1.50 a gallon.”

Two years ago, CTA was able to get the first fully electric bus on the coast through grants from Mississippi Power.

“We have a commitment to our customers to provide clean, safe, reliable electricity every day,” said Mississippi Power spokesperson Jeff Shepard on why the company offers grants for this.  

CTA is not going to be stopping here. The organization is on a mission to completely upgrade its fleet into sustainable options, like fully propane or fully electric

“We have twelve on order right now – buses that will be here in the next 6 months,” said Kevin Coggin, Executive Director of CTA. “They’re going to replace older diesel buses, so that’s going to have a significant impact on reducing our operating costs and reducing our tail-pipe emissions, and so we are continuing to order these propane buses. 

CTA has a total fleet of 50 buses – 41 small and 9 large. The large hybrid buses will be changed to fully electric and the small ones will all be propane. 

 CTA is nearly halfway to their goal already.