The MTA’s plan to convert to a zero-emissions bus fleet by 2040 has hit enough roadblocks that the target date is “in jeopardy” of not being met, a new report from New York state’s top fiscal watchdog warns.
The audit from state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli comes after the MTA acknowledged in June that it had to pump the brakes on ordering hundreds of electric buses because of reliability shortfalls with the green technology.
“The electric buses that we have tested so far have not been up to standards. They break down too frequently,” Janno Lieber, MTA chairperson and chief executive, said Wednesday at an unrelated news conference. “We have put the manufacturer on notice and in order for us to continue purchasing electric buses, we need that reliability standard to be met.”…