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January 23, 2020

Senate measure will require electric-only buses in 2030

Photo | Courtesy of Worcester Regional Transit Authority Electric buses, like the ones operated by the Worcester Regional Transit Authority, could be mandatory in a decade.

Federal inaction has put pressure on Massachusetts and other states to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, state Senate President Karen Spilka said Thursday, and a Senate bill due to be unveiled Thursday will amend the 2008 Global Warming Solutions Act to lay out the steps to get to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

"We don't have the luxury of waiting so we need to be intentional and strategic," Spilka told WGBH in an interview that aired Thursday morning. "As part of the bill we are greening the public buses so that starting in 2030 when new buses are bought they will all be electric. That will help communities, particularly communities of low-income, where diesel fuel buses are the main form of transportation."

The bill is expected to surface at Thursday's Senate session, with floor debate on it likely to occur next week.

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