The bright green buses in Gardena are keeping passengers cool and saving the city money. This is because the Gardena local bus line, GTrans, is one of the few lines in the nation with all-electric heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) units in its buses. These electric HVAC systems have increased the bus line’s fuel efficiency by 8 percent, and saved the city money in decreased operational costs.

Since 2010, all of GTrans’ 57 hybrid buses have worked with electric HVAC units. These electric systems make buses more fuel efficient because they draw their power from the electric source, not the engine like traditional buses. These HVAC units are also designed as two small units in one, and on cooler days only one small HVAC operates, for further efficiency.

These HVAC systems have been saving the city money on operational costs by making the buses more reliable. The systems lead to less mechanical failures, which in turn decreases repair costs.

Continuing the city’s commitment to sustainability, it added two electric buses to the local bus fleet. These two buses consume zero fuel as they operate for up to 150 miles on one single charge. Currently, there are no traditional fuel-only buses on the GTrans’ bus fleet and as the lifespan of these hybrid buses is coming to expiration, the city is considering replacing up to 18 of these vehicles with all electric buses.

In the near future, the city also plans to move toward charging their electric buses with 100 percent of solar energy, which would in turn produce zero greenhouse gas emissions.

“Over the past 10 years, we have traveled over 12 million miles on hybrid powered buses and have seen a significant reduction in tailpipe emissions. Now, we look forward to exploring the next step in electric propulsion as we demonstrate Zero Emission 100% Electric powered buses,” said Tony Cohen, Fleet and Facilities Maintenance Manager of Gardena’s GTrans.