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Go Greener hits high gear

Metro Transit committed to reducing impact on environment

The average Twin Cities commuter contributes about 2.6 tons of greenhouse gas emissions every year by driving alone to work.

This spring, Metro Transit is inviting Twin Cities residents who want to lighten their impact on the environment to start making changes on a personal level. It’s as easy as sharing the ride or taking transit one day a week.

The agency’s Go Greener campaign, launched in May, focuses attention on transit’s role in reducing pollution and Metro Transit’s wider commitment to the environment, including plans to purchase 150 hybrid-electric buses.

“Consumers are looking for options that are better for the environment,” said Metro Transit General Manager Brian Lamb. “They want to know what they can do now. We’re reminding them that something as simple as getting out of their cars and taking transit can make a huge difference.”

Metro Transit leads the industry

Metro Transit unveiled its first hybrid electric bus in 2002. By 2012, 150 buses – almost 20 percent of the agency’s fleet – will be hybrids.

That’s just one component of Metro Transit’s expanded commitment to the environment. To further reduce tailpipe emissions, the agency plans to buy 164 buses that use clean diesel technologies.

Metro Transit is an industry leader on providing transit service in ways that are more environmentally friendly, Lamb said. Efforts have included:

• Since mid-2005, using ultra-low sulfur diesel, the cleanest fuel on the market, on all Metro Transit buses.
• Surpassing the State of Minnesota’s mandate that all diesel fuel sold in the state be 2 percent biodiesel by increasing the biodiesel content to 5 percent in July 2006.
• Using 10 percent biodiesel in all of its nearly 900 buses this year.
• Modifying bus transmissions for better fuel economy and reducing bus-engine idling.
• Taking over management of the region’s carpooling, ridesharing and biking programs.

New TV ad includes Earth-friendly theme

To increase the public’s awareness of Metro Transit’s broader environmental commitment, a new TV commercial is airing this spring on Twin Cities stations. It continues the theme “Learn a New Way to Move” from an advertising campaign in the fall and integrates a new message on the environmental benefits of public transportation.

It began airing in May, when Metro Transit kicked off its “Go Greener” campaign at the Living Green Expo – an annual event that provides information on ways to live a healthier lifestyle with less impact on the environment. Visitors at the event boarded a Metro Transit hybrid bus – wrapped in new advertising touting the campaign.

In addition, those attending the event could sign up for the Commuter Challenge (see margin),  Metro Transit’s annual drive that encourages commuters to pledge to try transit, ridesharing or other alternatives to driving alone at least one time before June 30. The agency gathered more than 1,780 pledges during the two-day Living Green Expo event.

It’s a sign that the environmental message is resonating in the marketplace, Lamb said.

“Consumers want to save more than just the price of gas,” he said. “Metro Transit can help them go greener with transit options that can fit any lifestyle.”

Earlier this spring, Metro Transit harnessed nature to power its Hiawatha light-rail trains on April 22 – Earth Day. The agency contracted enough wind power from Xcel Energy’s Windsource program to essentially power the entire Hiawatha light-rail operation by wind power that day.