Long Beach Transit (LBT) will hold a public hearing regarding the purchase of transit buses in compliance with a California statute at noon on Monday, Feb. 23 in the Long Beach City Council Chambers, 333 W. Ocean Blvd. Public comments will be accepted at the hearing and also through Friday, Feb. 13 via Long Beach Transit’s Customer Service call center at (562) 591-2301 or LBT’s Customer Comment form online lbtransit.com .
The public hearing will present information on Long Beach Transit’s need to replace buses over the next five years. The buses that will be replaced and retired have exceeded their useful life of 12 years, according to LBT, which indicates that the new buses are needed to meet current and future air-quality regulations and to accommodate current and future customer needs.
Long Beach Transit plans to introduce battery electric buses, which will be a new fleet class for the transit agency. It also plans to expand its current fleet class of compressed natural gas (CNG) buses.
The Axle Weight Limit Statute, established in 1976, states that any one axle on a bus cannot exceed 20,500 pounds. However, bus weights across the industry have increased over time due to regulatory requirements and service characteristics, according to LBT. These factors have led to improved buses with mandatory ADA equipment, air-quality regulations, advancements in durability and enhancements in comfort such as air conditioning and seating. An Assembly Bill passed in 2012 says that authorization of any buses that will be added to a fleet after Jan. 1, 2013, and that may exceed the axle weight limit, must be preceded by a public hearing.
Source: LBT
