A recent Noozhawk headline was inspiring to those who believe that the city of Santa Barbara should contribute to saving the earth:
“Santa Barbara MTD (metropolitan transportation district) Rolls Toward Zero-Emissions Goal with Approval to Buy 8 Electric Buses.”
These would be in addition to the 23 the MTD already has in the fleet. In a February 2023 report Noozhawk wrote: “MTD has had battery-electric buses in its fleet since 1991.”
So, with nearly a third of the fleet already converted they are well on their way to meeting the state mandate for all electric vehicles by 2030.
But mandates from virtue signaling politicians in Sacramento are costing taxpayers statewide billions annually searching for the impossible dream.
While giving the politicians who think up these programs a warm feeling, it is we working folks who must pay for their fantasies.
In this case, they think that electrifying the entire vehicle fleet in California will somehow stop “global warming,” thus saving the earth from pending doom.
I have been hearing these same sorts of “impending doom” predictions since the 1950s and I am still waiting for any of their doom-and-gloom predictions to come true.
The current SB MTD purchase is for eight, 38-passenger buses. In 2023 the city of Lompoc acquired four new 24-foot buses for $1,181,250. That’s $295,312 each.
The purchase price for the eight MTD buses, which are larger, is $14,970,000, which is $1,871,250 for each bus including the charging stations. Even considering the difference in size, that’s several times the cost of conventional buses.
The Noozhawk report indicated the MTD has 100 buses in its fleet. This means the MTD still must purchase another 69 EVs between now and 2030.
If the vehicle size and cost remain the same, that would be another $81,506,250 that needs to be spent over the next six years.
But we all know the costs will increase as all the transportation systems that rely on these buses purchase EVs to meet the state mandate.
Noozhawk says the “MTD will use a series of state grants to help purchase the vehicles;” of course, these grants are taxpayer funds being channeled from the federal level to the state and then to the local MTD.
At each stop along the way, money is siphoned off for “administrative costs” and as with all grants the MTD will have to submit regular status reports.
My friends, it’s time to stop electing people who will use your money for science projects that produce negligible results.
Many point to Europe to justify their actions. But SAE International reported in March that “In a surprising move that paves the way for the European Union’s adoption of a mandate to eliminate vehicle CO2 emissions, on March 25 the EU reached an agreement with Germany to step back from a complete ban of combustion-engine vehicles starting in 2035. The EU agreed to permit sales and registration of internal-combustion engine (ICE) models after the 2035 deadline — provided those vehicles operate only on carbon-neutral fuels, often generically referred to as ‘e-fuels.”
Well, there you have it – the Germans figured out that these mandates won’t work. Maybe it’s time for California to get the message.
References:
Santa Barbara MTD Rolls Toward Zero-Emissions Goal with Approval to Buy 8 Electric Buses | Local News | Noozhawk
Santa Barbara MTD Adding Nine Full-Size Electric Buses to Replace Aging Diesel Fleet | Local News | Noozhawk
Lompoc COLT bus cost sbcag05_061523.pdf
