Sierra Club Supports Electric Bus Expansion in DC

Mr. Mark Bathrick
FTA Office of Program Management
U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE
Washington, DC 20590

RE: Support for DDOT FTA Grant Application for Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Program

Dear Mr. Bathrick:

On behalf of the Sierra Club DC Chapter, we would like to express our support for the District of Columbia’s Department of Transportation’s (DDOT) application to the Buses and Bus Facilities Programin support of the DC Circulator program.

The Sierra Club DC Chapter is dedicated to protecting and improving the environment in the nation’s capital. The Sierra Club is the nation's oldest and largest environmental advocacy group. We are a grassroots organization with more than 3,000 dues-paying members and more than 10,000 supporters in DC. We work to shift away from the dirty fossil fuels that cause climate change and move toward a clean energy economy. DC Circulator is a crucial component of the District’s transportation system and reduces car traffic, which creates more greenhouse gases and other emissions than buses on a per-passenger basis.

However, despite their benefits, diesel-powered buses continue to create particulate emissions and noise that are unhealthy for the community and contribute to the region’s high asthma rates (the Washington, DC metropolitan area ranks 23rd in a list of 100 US metropolitan area asthma rate ranking, see https://www.aafa.org/media/2119/aafa-2018-asthma-capitals-report.pdf). The Sierra Club has engaged agencies in DC, including DDOT, to push for a rapid expansion of an electric transportation
infrastructure. In 2017, we organized a petition to the DC Government to introduce electric buses to the DC Circulator fleet, in part by using funds from the Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal settlement. The Sierra Club is a supporter of the DC Circulator and is excited that DDOT is proposing to expand its electric bus facility to incorporate an additional 14 electric buses into its fleet.

Our organization endorses this DDOT initiative and will assist where possible to help ensure the success of the Buses and Bus Facilities Program in our nation’s capital to help promote environmentally friendly buses. We wholeheartedly support the expansion of electric bus technology in our community and reducing reliance on dirty diesel fuel.

Thank you for your consideration.

Payton Chung
Chair, Smart Growth Committee
Sierra Club Washington DC Chapter