Clean, Green, Transport Machine
It’s been a long time since I went to a ribbon cutting. (Or any public event, really. But let's stay focused.)
I'm also not sure you're supposed to cut a ribbon when you dedicate a vehicle. But it would be a little awkward to break a bottle of champagne over the front bumper, so we did the ribbon/scissors thing as Juneau rolled out the first electric transit bus in Alaska!
It's a huge improvement over our old diesel buses. This is quieter, costs less to run, has way fewer parts to maintain, and emits no carbon dioxide. Plus, bus riders have historically sucked enough exhaust fumes to make a person sick. Not an issue with electric.
I worked on this issue when I was on the Assembly, so it's great to see it happen. And it's just the beginning. The city has six more on order. As the old fleet wears out, CBJ's plan is to replace them all with vehicles that run on Southeast Alaska's reliable, affordable, salmon-safe hydropower.
Reps. Story, Hannan, and I recently worked with the Department of Transportation to make sure Alaska keeps applying for the federal grants that helped make this happen. Soon, not only will Capital Transit be the best bus service in Alaska, it'll be the greenest.
