Diesels buses stink.
Drivers instinctively roll up the windows when they're driving behind one and pedestrians hold their breath when a diesel bus passes by.
So why hasn't NJ Transit made the switch to electric buses?
Environmentalists, who seek to clean the air to reduce respiratory diseases like asthma, want electric buses seriously considered as NJ Transit drafts a new plan to replace aging urban buses, starting in 2022.
Currently, NJ Transit has doesn't have any electric buses in its fleet. New York's MTA is testing 10 electric buses in Manhattan and Brooklyn and Queens.
"People who depend on transit to get around are exposed to diesel exhaust that's causing respiratory problems," said Amy Goldsmith, Clean Water Action state director. "New Jersey needs to institute a financial plan to replace dirty diesels."
Environmentalists want electric buses used in cities such as Newark, Camden and Jersey City which they said have high rates of respiratory diseases caused by exhaust and particulate from diesel vehicles.
Northeastern states such as New Jersey can reduce pollution by cutting emissions from transportation, said a Natural Resources Defense Council report issued last month. Part of that strategy calls on transit agencies to replace diesel buses with electrics, especially in cities. Other ideas call for more transit use and replacing gas powered cars with electrics.
Would electric buses really make a difference?
A 2016 Columbia University study of electric bus use by New York City's MTA said air pollution generated by buses would be significantly reduced.
Electrics could prevent the generation of 486,068 metric tons of carbon dioxide that now spew out of MTA diesel bus tailpipes. Even when factoring in the 91,222 metric tons of CO2 produced by power plants that generate electricity to charge the buses, that's still a big drop, the study said.
The nagging question is how to pay for them.
Electric buses cost about $300,000 more than the $450,000 to $750,000 price for a diesel, according to the Columbia study. Some of the cost can be recouped from money saved in fuel and reduced maintenance costs for electrics.
NJ Transit received a $500,000 federal grant for electric buses, said Nancy Snyder, an NJ Transit spokeswoman. But it's not enough to buy one bus.
"NJ Transit has been investigating electric bus opportunities for a couple of years," she said. "The agency has applied for funding grants to support an electric bus program, but was not awarded grants which would be sufficiently sized to begin a program."
Funds paid to the state from the $69 million from the recent Volkswagen diesel emissions tampering settlement could help finance electric buses, Goldsmith said.
The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative could be another source of funds, the NRDC report said. New Jersey pulled out of RGGI in 2012 and Gov. Phil Murphy reversed that with an executive order this year.
"When (RGGI) started, many states involved were addressing the power (generation pollution) question and they've seen success. Carbon pollution is down in Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative states," said Bruce Ho, author of the NRDC report. "The 800-pound gorilla in room is transportation. We can't get to the (clean air) goals unless we deal with transportation."
In 2022, NJ Transit plans to start replacing the 1,109 bus urban fleet over five years under a fleet plan. An updated plan is underdevelopment, Snyder said.
"While the technology continues to develop, we have identified several bus garages where electric buses would be beneficial to operate, as well as the service areas where we would begin service," Snyder said.
Potential electric bus routes have been identified in Essex, Union and Camden counties that are close to bus garages in Maplewood, Nutley and Camden where buses could be charged, she said.
A bus garage in the Greenville section of Jersey City wasn't considered because there are a limited number of bus routes that fit those parameters, Snyder said.
"Unless we invest in clean vehicles, we won't get the benefits," Ho said.