Here is an example of technology solving our air pollution that isn’t working as well as it could, yet.
An excerpt.
Hybrid buses lose steam in Elk Grove
They sputter on freeways, and A/C systems have quit
By Loretta Kalb -- Bee Staff Writer Published 12:01 am PDT Monday, August 7, 2006
When Elk Grove established its own transit system 19 months ago, it was hailed as another first for a city that prides itself on maverick moves.
A hybrid-powered commuter bus fleet -- the cleanest in the nation -- would be the heart of what's called the e-tran.
But now, Elk Grove's path to clean-air mass transit has taken a detour. Diesel buses, both chartered and purchased, currently make up nearly half of e-tran's 42-vehicle fleet and most of the daily commute buses to downtown Sacramento.
Instead of cruising into the nation's history books, the hybrid fleet has had trouble accelerating into the fast lanes of the freeways. Instead of comfortable rides, hybrid bus air conditioners have quit in triple-digit temperatures, leaving passengers sweating in ovenlike heat.
Now, only five of the city's 21 hybrids are used on freeways.
"In the quest to be leading edge, you have to take chances at times on new technology," Mayor Rick Soares said. "We took that chance."
