The City of Beaumont is committed to reducing air quality emissions from motor vehicles and improving the quality of life for its citizens. This project is the first step in a short-range goal to replace all diesel public transit fleet vehicles within the Pass Area (Banning and Beaumont) with compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles.
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The City of Beaumont began its project with a solicitation of specifications from several bus manufacturers with CNG powered buses already in production. The City then researched the performance of vehicles using those specifications. Ultimately, the John Deere CNG power plant was selected. An RFP was prepared and award was made to the lowest responsible bidder.
The objective of the project was to purchase two (2) 34 foot, Bluebird Xcel 102 C4RE 3505C buses equipped with dedicated CNG engines. The buses will be used for fixed route public transportation in the Pass Area.
The buses are in service. The use of the buses has resulted in a positive response from passengers. It is the Citys hope that the use of CNG buses will encourage potential passengers to use public transit. According to the Final Report, the promotion of the use of CNG buses is a key element in the effort to increase ridership by transit agencies operating in the Pass Area. A central element of this effort is the upgrading of CNG refueling facilities to support the increased use of CNG buses.