The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) completed an engine retrofit project to reduce emissions on a significant number of its fleet of more than 2,200 compressed natural gas (CNG) fueled buses.

Metro repowered 125 of its transit buses with new Cummins ISLG and L9N Near Zero Emission Natural Gas-Fueled Heavy Duty Engines, which will reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) by 90% and greenhouse gases by 9%.

The Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee (MSRC) provided Metro with $1.8 million in Clean Transportation Funding to complete the installation of the 125 new lower emitting engines in its fleet of 45-foot series composite buses. The MSRC allocates Clean Transportation Funding from a $4 surcharge on vehicle license fees, specifically to be used for local projects designed to reduce air pollution from motor vehicles.

The Cummins ISLG and L9N Near Zero Emission Natural Gas Fueled Heavy Duty Engine was the first CNG mid-range engine to receive emissions certifications from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board, which meets the 0.02 g/bhp-hr optional near zero NOx emission standard.

Over its nearly 30-year history, the MSRC has distributed more than $440 million in funding to innovative clean air projects — like these near zero emission engine retrofits — throughout LA, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties that have helped remove as much as 13,000 tons of air pollution from the skies of Southern California.