PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Southeast Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA), the 5th largest overall transit system in the U.S., has partnered with Indiana-based Lumin-Air to outfit their bus fleet with MERV-13 equivalent filtration. MERV-13 filters are part of the recent improvements made at the Wells Fargo Center to improve indoor air quality. MERV-13 filters are recommended by experts because they remove small particles and at least 85% of the droplet nuclei people exhale that contain virus cells. These filters will help catch and remove contaminants from recirculated air inside the bus, improving the air quality for both riders and bus operators.
Bruce Kramer, SEPTA Senior Project Designer said “Removing airborne contaminants inside our fleet is another strategy in our layered approach to keep riders, coach operators, and SEPTA team members safe.”
Lumin-Air’s Dan Fillenwarth added, “The key to our solution is increasing filtration efficiency without reducing airflow. Our filters last three times as long as standard bus filters, so our solution is a very economical way to improve the health and safety of riders and bus operators. SEPTA continues to be an industry leader in prioritizing safety and will be the first transit system on the east coast to retrofit their fleet with filters that are this efficient.”
Desmond Cole, SEPTA Senior Project Engineer said, “When exploring available technologies, we felt strongly about the need to remove contaminants and not add anything (chemicals, ions, or gases) into the air people breathe.”
SEPTA has already received the first shipment of filters and will complete the filtration upgrade over the next several months.
More about SEPTA: SEPTA is the nation’s fifth largest public transportation agency, providing service throughout the Greater Philadelphia Region. SEPTA buses, subways, trolleys and Regional Rail (commuter rail) cover a service area of 2,200 square miles, including Philadelphia, Delaware, Montgomery, Bucks and Chester counties, and Regional Rail service reaches New Jersey and Delaware. For more information about SEPTA, please visit www.septa.org.
More about Lumin-Air: Lumin-Air is devoted to improving the air people breathe in indoor settings, and specializes in public transportation and school bus solutions. Lumin-Air follows ASHRAE (American Society of Heating and Air Conditioning Engineers) and CDC (Centers for Disease Control) recommendations, to increase outside air, improve filtration and supplement with UVC especially when outside air and filtration options are limited. For more information about Lumin-Air, please visit www.lumin-air.com.
