ARVIN, Calif. (KERO) — With the grant the center will also replace 3 of their diesel and gas powered buses with electric buses—for a total of nine zero emission units. And by 2026, the center plans to be 100% electric.
- Video shows how an FDA grant will help the Arvin Transit Center lower carbon emissions in the community.
- Arvin became the first city in the nation to obtain this 2.3 million dollar grant from the FDA for a second time.
- With the grant, the center will receive two new electric buses and install a microgrid.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Two new electric buses and a microgrid are coming to the Arvin Transit Center. Transportation Director Hesham Elshazly said this project is made possible through a 2.3-million-dollar grant from the FDA.
Soon, more buses will be opening their doors to passengers in Arvin.
"We'll get a new 40-foot transit bus and a Dial-A-Ride electric—both of them electric," explained Transportation Director Hesham Elshazly.
In 2019, the center introduced three electric buses to the city providing local transportation and transportation to Lamont, Tejon, and Bakersfield.
With the grant, he says the center will also replace three of their diesel and gas-powered buses with electric buses—for a total of nine zero-emission units.
Despite being a rural community, Elshazly says Arvin has high diesel and fuel-powered traffic that affects the air quality in the community.
He added that Arvin is the first city in the nation to receive this FDA grant for a second time.
"To prove the point that not because we're rural we're going to be forgotten about, whatever needs to be done to improve the life for everybody here," stated Elshazly.
To help improve the city's quality of life, the center plans to go 100% electric by 2026.
So far, he says the electric units, have benefited the city by lowering carbon emissions and cost and providing a more pleasant experience for passengers.
"It's not like before when you ride the bus—diesel or gas—you still from time to time you smell some of the fuel, but there is no fuel at all," said Elshazly.
The new bus routes will provide transportation to The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Tejon.
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