MTA Will Deploy 60 Zero-Emission Buses By Year's End

NEW YORK CITY — A fleet of zero-emissions MTA buses will head into New York City communities with poor air quality and high asthma rates, officials said.

Sixty electric buses soon will hit the streets across the city, Gov. Kathy Hochul said in an Earth Day announcement.

"We'll have that in place by the end of the year," she said.

MTA officials have committed to a deploying $1.1 billion, zero-emission bus fleet by 2040. All told, it will require another 500 buses, Hochul said.

The goal dovetails with New York officials' plans to make sure all passenger vehicles sold in the state are zero emissions by 2035.

"Mass transit is the antidote to climate change,” said Janno Lieber, the MTA's chair and CEO.

Beyond the benefits in the fight against climate change, Lieber said this year's electric bus fleet deployment will have direct health benefits for many New Yorkers.

The buses will arrive along routes servicing Grand Avenue in Queens, Charleston in Staten Island, East New York in Brooklyn and Kingsbridge in The Bronx, officials said.

“Deploying zero emissions buses to communities disproportionately impacted by high asthma rates and poor air quality is a double win for the environment and for equity,” Lieber said.