1993-1994
Upon the recommendation of then General Manager Kevin Abbey, the CATA Board of Directors made the decision to begin replacing all of CATA’s fleet with buses fueled by clean-burning CNG.
As the first step toward fulfilling this commitment, CATA ordered sixteen CNG-powered buses from Bus Industries of America (now Orion Bus Industries) in Oriskany, New York. |
1995
CATA, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania joined in a cooperative effort to build a CNG compressing, storage and dispensing station at CATA’s administrative facility. Altogether CATA’s partners contributed in excess of $1.0 million to the project. |
1996
CATA took delivery of its first sixteen Orion buses fueled by CNG. CATA also began working with the nearby UniMart to provide compressed natural gas to the public. |
1997, 1998, 2001
CATA purchased additional CNG-fueled low-floor New Flyer buses. These 28 35-foot and 40-foot buses have become the backbone of CATA’s fleet. |
1999
A third CNG dispenser, donated to CATA by Columbia Gas, was installed to provide additional fueling capacity. |
2002
A canopy was placed over the fueling station at the CATA administrative facility so that CATA’s Maintenance staff could fuel buses out of the rain and snow. |
2003
A second CNG dispenser was placed on CATA’s property and acts as a back up to the original. |
2004
CATA purchased four 30-foot CNG-fueled low-floor ElDorado buses, which have proven to be a perfect fit for use in residential neighborhoods |
2005
With the receipt of two new CNG-fueled Ford minibuses, CATA’s CNG program reached completion. CATA became the first transit system on the East Coast to have converted its entire fixed-route fleet to alternative fuel. |
2006-2008
CATA continued its experimentation with alternative fuels by joining forces with Penn State and its Larson Transportation Institute on a broad research initiative aimed at researching the use of hydrogen in vehicles. As a result of the project, one of CATA‘s CNG buses was temporarily converted to operate on a CNG-Hydrogen blend. |
2008
CATA completed a major overhaul of its on-site CNG fueling facility, which centered on replacing two of its three existing CNG compressors. The project was funded through a congressional earmark, obtained for CATA by former Representative John Peterson. |
2009
CATA took ownership of ten CNG-powered New Flyer buses previously operated by LYNX in Orlando, FL. A subsequent trade with the transit system in Indiana, PA, brought to CATA two additional CNG buses that had begun their careers in Reading, PA.. |
2012
CATA made another vehicle purchase in 2012, this time for 28 new CNG-powered New Flyer Xcelsior buses (the first of this model to be powered by natural gas), which have added a modern touch to the fleet. The arrival of these buses allowed for the retirement of CATA’s oldest CNG buses – the sixteen original 1996 Orion buses and the 1997 New Flyers acquired used from Orlando. The purchase was funded with state capital funds, a congressional earmark, and a $6.3 million Federal Transit Administration State of Good Repair grant. |
| click here for a printable summary of the CATA Compressed Natural Gas Program |
