Committee on Environmental Protection & Energy
City Council Meeting October 7, 2020
Resolution Calling for Subject-Matter Hearings on the City's Progress toward CTA Bus Electrification
WHEREAS, in April 2019, the Chicago City Council approved a resolution supporting a clean energy transition plan, including a commitment to fully electrify the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) bus fleet by 2040; and
WHEREAS, CTA launched a strategic planning study in 2019 to evaluate the cost, infrastructure needs and impacts to service and operations associated with bus electrification; and
WHEREAS, CTA has more than 1,860 buses in its fleet, including more than 230 hybrid buses and eight electric buses; and ,
WHEREAS, on-road transportation accounted for approximately 15% of the City's carbon emissions, or 4,795,501 metric tons, according to a 2017 emissions inventory; and
WHEREAS, while transit buses are a relatively small part of carbon emissions produced by on-road transportation, they still primarily operate on diesel fuel; and
WHEREAS, one of the most harmful forms of air pollution is fine particulate matter created by on-road transportation including diesel cars, trucks, and buses; and
WHEREAS, diesel exhaust is recognized as a cancer-causing agent and is classified as a likely carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; and
WHEREAS, a 2020 study by the Respiratory Health Association and Center for Spatial Data Science found that adults living within 500 meters of the bus routes with highest volumes of ridership had an asthma rate 8.4% greater than the citywide average and a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) rate 10.6% greater than the citywide average; and
WHEREAS, the report also found that adult residents living closest to any of the CTA's seven bus garages had an asthma rate more than 12% greater than the citywide average rate and a COPD rate 23.6% greater than the citywide average rate; and
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WHEREAS, COPD and adult asthma rates we...
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