18 ways SEPTA will make your ride greener

Less is more. That's the idea behind SEPTA's first Energy Action Plan.

The new plan, released Monday, looks to save more than $2 million a year by cutting annual energy usage by about 3 percent — all without spending additional funds or curtailing transit services.

"We've identified a number of initiatives we can enact through this plan that can make a noticeable difference in regional sustainability while achieving budget neutrality," said Erik Johanson, SEPTA's strategy and sustainability planner.

Translation: We're getting greener and saving money by using less.

"Anything that we do under the sustainability program has to have a business case," Johanson added.

The plan comprises 18 initiatives (see the document below) — everything from instituting daytime cleaning at SEPTA headquarters to expanding the agency's much-heralded wayside energy storage system.

"We looked at every single energy source that SEPTA has," said Johanson. "Vehicles, facilities, 1234 Market St. headquarters in Center City, all the way out to our farthest-flung rail yard. Everything that we have on the books."