4th International Transportation Systems Performance Measurement Conference

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Metro

Climate Change and

Sustainable Transit

PerformancePresented by

Cris B. Liban, D.Env., P.E.Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority

May 18, 2011

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Transit Paradox

Transit’s Effects on Regional Carbon FootprintTransit’s Effects on Regional Carbon FootprintTransit’s Effects on Regional Carbon FootprintTransit’s Effects on Regional Carbon Footprint

To reduce emissions from mobile sources, we need higher levels of public transit and more compact patterns of land use that transit supports.

APTA, 2010

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Transit’s Impact on GHG Emissions

• Transit vehicles and fuels• Facilities, stations, and maintenance yards

• Construction and maintenance

• Nonrevenue vehicle fleets

GHG Impacts of Transit

Mode Shift

Congestion Relief

Compact Development

GHG Emissions

from Transit

Avoided trips from private

autos

Improves fuel efficiency

Fewer auto trips required

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Metro’s Sustainability Approach

• Increase and expand our system through Measure R while simultaneously finding ways to significantly reduce our own carbon footprint

• Integrate sustainability principles in our Planning, Construction, Operation, and Procurement efforts

• Use Environmental Management System principles in our operations

PLANPLANPLANPLAN

CHECKCHECKCHECKCHECK

DODODODOACTACTACTACT

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ANNUAL SUSTAINABILITY

REPORT AS A TOOL

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Methodology

• Use of the GRI Protocol

• Considered common inputs and outputs

• Energy, Water, Materials<<==>>Emissions, Effluents, Waste

• Considers impacts on biodiversity

• Compared the change in environmental impacts to the changes in service and ridership

• Efficiency of growth can be estimated

• Normalizing factors

• Boardings

• Revenue Hours

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Sustainability Indicators

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Major Indicator Trends: 2009 to 2011

• Changes in electricity usage based on reassignment of accounts not magnitude of usage

• Overall water use increased faster than ridership growth

• Overall decrease in Greenhouse Gas Emissions

• 100% CNG Busses

• Further improvements in Ridership, Fuel Use, and Facility Electricity Use

• Significant decrease in criteria pollutants

• Steady increase of non-hazardous liquid waste

• Attributed to the increase in number of bus washers and facilities

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Annual Reporting Benefits

• Enables our Board to adopt informed performance targets

• Provides information necessary to implement plans to meet those targets

• Creates a structure that can be used to regularly monitor progress

• http://www.metro.net/sustainability

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COST-EFFECTIVENESS AS

CLIMATE CHANGE

REDUCTION STRATEGY

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Why Cost Effectiveness Analysis?

� Compare the cost and emissions impacts of potential transit strategies to further reduce emissions

� Cost effectiveness rated in $ per ton of emissions reduced

� Informs decision making although with some challenges

� Informs Climate Action and Adaptation Plan

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Cost-Effectiveness Calculation

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Results: Cost Effectiveness

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Results: GHG Reduction Potential

Large GHG Benefit (> 10,000 MtCO2e/year)

Ridesharing/Transit Programs for Employers

Transit Oriented Development

Vanpool Subsidy

On-board Railcar Energy Storage

Moderate GHG Benefit (1,000-10,000 MtCO2e/year)

45-foot Composite Buses

Facility Lighting Efficiency

$ Metro Employee Transit Subsidy

$$ Bicycle Paths along Transit Corridors

$$ Gasoline-Electric Hybrid Buses

$$ Wayside Energy Storage Substation

Small GHG Benefit (< 1,000 MtCO2e/year)

Red Line Tunnel Lighting Retrofit

Hybrid Non-Revenue Cars

Recycled Water for Bus Washing

Low Water Sanitary Fixtures

$ Solar Panels

$ Bike-to-Transit Commuter Incentives

$$ Hybrid Non-Revenue Light Trucks

< $14 / ton

$ $300-900 / ton

$$ >$1000 / ton

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Using Results in Decision Making

� Must consider co-benefits of strategies

� Transit service

� Mobility

� Water conservation

� Waste reduction

� Range of cost effectiveness for some strategies is too wide to support decision making

� Does make a case for implementation of cost savings strategies

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“Cost-Effectiveness” as a Strategy?

� Largest GHG reduction opportunities are typically those that reduce VMT

� Many of the most cost effective strategies address GHG emissions from facility energy use.

� Too early to generalize from these results

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Metro’s Role in a Sustainable Region

• Metro’s programs organically create a nexus among various sustainable elements

• Forging partnerships and finding common-ground solutions

• Ensures that our operations consider environment, economy, and society

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Metro’s Recent Sustainability Successes

� Reduced priority air pollution per vehicle mile by more than 74% through the use CNG buses

� Increased our renewable energy portfolio by more than 50% to one of transit’s largest in the nation, currently about 2MW of renewable energy power

� Began to reduce water use by a quarter of a million gallons per day over five years

� About 44% of our generated waste are now recycled

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Continuing Environmental Leadership

� Partnerships with Federal, State, local, non-profits and other 3rd Party entities

� Clean/Green Construction Policy

� Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy Policy

� Climate Action and Adaptation Plan

� Energy Conservation and Management Plan

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Questions

Cris B. Liban, D.Env., P.E.

p: 213/922-2471

e/m: [email protected]

For additional information:

www.metro.net/sustainability

213/922-1100

Technology

4th International Transportation Systems Performance Measurement Conference