New York is targeting air pollution by offering rebates to retrofit or replace older trucks with alternatively fuelled models.
In 2012, New York introduced the Hunts Point Clean Truck Program (HPCTP), working to address the poor air quality experienced by the Hunts Point and Port Morris communities in the South Bronx, where 15,000 truck trips begin or end every day. The program provides financial incentives to truck owners who are based, or who regularly operate, in the South Bronx, to retrofit diesel exhaust systems with scrubber technologies, or to replace older trucks with newer, cleaner models such as hybrid-electric, compressed natural gas, or fully electric.
Three years into the program, the HPCTP celebrated the replacement of 500 old, highly-polluting diesel trucks. In total, truck replacements, retrofits, scrappage schemes, and transport refrigeration unit replacements have resulted in annual reductions of NOx by 90%, PM2.5 by more than 95%, hydrocarbons by 80%, and carbon monoxide by almost 85% for HTCTP vehicles.
5,700 metric tons CO2 reduced yearly under the program
The challenge
Thousands of trucks drive through the South Bronx every day, with high levels of particulate matter contributing to a community asthma rate three times the national average. Advanced vehicle technologies with low-carbon fuels are a breath of fresh air for New Yorkers.
Co-benefits
Economic Many of the program’s applicants are immigrant-owned, small businesses. The program helps these businesses stay competitive and provide jobs for New Yorkers.
Environmental Transport refrigeration unit replacements alone have cut emissions by 900 metric tons CO2 per year.
Health Benefits are expected to be seen over the years as more trucks are replaced or retrofitted, emissions are reduced, and air quality improves.
About New York City
The City of New York, often called New York City or simply New York, is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2016 population of 8,537,673 distributed over a land area of about 302.6 square miles (784 km2), New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the United States. Many districts and landmarks in New York City have become well known, and the city received a record 61 million tourists in 2016, hosting three of the world’s ten most visited tourist attractions in 2013.
