New York city has decided to go green with its buses; they will be purchasing 500 electric buses for a cost of $1.1 billion. This is the first of a total of 5,800 electric buses (total cost of nearly $12 billion?). The only problem is that the current 15 (fifteen) electric busses cost two to three times as much to operate as the diesel or natural gas buses in service. In order to complete the deal, the NY MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority) is asking for a discount on its electrical cost. Naturally, the energy department is balking at the request.
There are solutions such as put forth by California where commercial EV chargers were given a 100% discount on demand chargers for five years. Presto! EV are a cost savings to the public as it costs less to run them. (NY Post 12/26/2022, pp 2)
Another trick and this is was started during the Obama era; the bus drivers who drove diesel or natural gas buses and who were switched to EVs were consider “new green jobs”. Same person, different vehicle, new title. Government speak at its finest.
