City unveils new look, compressed natural gas vehicles March 2nd
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 1, 2017
When talking about trash trucks, no one uses words like “sleek,” “eye-catching,” and “cool.” But these are the words being used to describe the city’s new compressed natural gas (CNG) trash trucks being unveiled on Thursday, March 2, at 9 a.m. on the south side of City Hall. A new dump truck that will be used by the Public Works Department and a tandem dump truck for Water Service also will be on display.
These vehicles are the first of their kind in the nation with big bore CNG engines that provide enough power to these large vehicles. In addition, they are more fuel efficient and replace vehicles that average 2.5 to 5 miles per gallon as well as drastically reducing the carbon output of each truck. The new Public Works dump truck also has disc brakes, which improve safety and reduce maintenance costs.
The City anticipates using these CNG vehicles as it replaces diesel models in the fleet. Each new trash truck has advanced safety features, including a state-of-the-art chassis and lightweight air disc brakes – providing shorter stopping distances – and, thanks to the CNG feature, is more fuel-efficient. And they pick up trash like never before!
“These trucks have an automated arm mounted on the right side to dump trash and what’s called a ‘tipper’ on the left side for use on cart routes,” said Sam Swearngin, fleet administrator.
Adding to the ‘cool’ factor, each of the trash trucks has a different themed four-sided wrap featuring the city skyline, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Kansas City Royals and the famed Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues.
City staff and members of the design and engineering teams will be on hand to answer questions.
For more information, contact Neighborhoods and Housing Services Department Communications/Community Liaison John Baccala at 816-513-3202, 816-520-6646 (cell).
