‘MART’s Fleet Includes Clean Diesel-Electric Hybrid Buses
Visit our Hybrid Buses page for more information and bus photos.
Solar PV systems
‘MART’ has installed Solar PV systems at our Water Street facility in Fitchburg and our Maintenance Facility in Gardner. Visit our Solar Projects page to see photos of the array and a link to our Solar Generation site.
Why install solar photovoltaic (PV) systems?
Solar photovoltaic systems are clean energy and as such are better for the environment and reduce ‘MART’s’ carbon footprint. The PV array generates clean energy from the sun which is connected to the electrical system through an inverter. This inverter turns the DC generated electricity into AC electrical currents which then provide power to the building and the various components within the building such as lights, computers, and other equipment. The electricity produced by the solar array reduces the power that ‘MART’ needs to draw from the power grid and thus reduces the amount of electricity that the power company needs to generate. ‘MART’ is also certified to sell any unconsumed power generated by the array back to the power company.
Solar photovoltaic systems produce clean energy and reduce energy consumption and electric bills.
Better for the planet and better for MART!
Energy Preservation:
MART’s goal is to not only generate clean energy but reduce consumption of energy overall. This will be accomplished by installing Energy Conservation Measures (ECM’s) throughout all MART’s facilities. The first step in the design of the PV systems to be installed at MART was a full energy audit of all MART facilities. The audit indicated all the ECM’s that should be instituted to achieve maximum energy preservation. The all of the following ECM’s have been instituted:
- LED Light Replacement at all of our eight Facilities including Parking
- Mechanical Upgrades at Water Street Admin/Maintenance Facility – completely revamped heating and cooling system designed for maximum efficiency
- Mechanical Upgrades at the Fitchburg Intermodal Facility
- Heat destratification in our three facilities that have vehicle storage areas
- Controls for remote access to high energy devices such as thermostats and electronics
Green Processes:
MART has made business process changes over the last few years to nurture our green policy. The following processes have been instituted:
- 5 Hybrid Buses – 3 Internationals (2010-11) and 2 New Flyers (2013)
- Two of our bus-washers at our maintenance facilities use water recycling tanks (2010)
- Recycling bins have been placed in all administrative and operational offices (2010)
- EFT Payments to vendors instead of paper checks (2011)
- Paperless copies, filing, and storage (2013)
- Electronic timesheets (2013)
- Solar lighting and customer information displays in bus shelters (2015)
- Better efficiency thru better Asset Management (2015)
- Electronic paystubs (2015)
- Electric-Car Charging Stations at all Parking Facilities (2016)
- Bike mode shift by retrofitting buses with bike racks and installing bike storage at stations (2016)
Planned for Future:
- Mode shift from Para-transit to Fixed Route via travel training (continuous process)
Mode Shift of a Different Kind
MART has also built parking garages/lots at the three commuter rail stations in our region. This may seem like a strange way to be environmentally friendly but it is. Commuters are taking the train to Boston from Fitchburg and Leominster instead of driving. This saves fuel, carbon emissions, and reduces highway congestion which improves air quality. For those that are even more green – there are electric vehicle charging stations at all three of our park and ride facilities.
Visit our “Go Green with Blue” page to find out more about mode-shift and how commuting can help you make a difference in our environment.