Trimess

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Mary Fetsch!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVLA9R6tAsY

3 comments:

Steve Fung said...

Why won't the agency order natural gas buses?We are paying 3.25 for diesel and the natural gas equivalent is 1.75.That was my point yesterday at the board meeting.

Jason McHuff said...

I don't what TriMet's experience would be with CNG (or other alternative fuel--I believe PPS used/s propane), but I found some quotes about how Cherriots in Salem didn't like them:

Not all transit systems are happy with compressed natural gas. Cherriots, the Salem-Keizer transit system, began purchasing clean diesel buses after several years of buying compressed natural gas vehicles, said Steve Dickey, that transit system's director of transportation.

Clean-diesel buses are more reliable and have fewer maintenance needs than Cherriots' natural gas buses, Dickey said. The fueling components on those buses, he said, are "a pretty significant maintenance nightmare for our crew."


--Wilsonville SMART transit system plans to add its first alternative fuel buses | OregonLive.com

In 1996, officials projected that the natural-gas buses would cost less than diesel ones, but that has not panned out as expected.

LaFraniere said the cost of replacement parts, which are difficult to come by, and other factors have resulted in compressed-natural-gas buses being more expensive -- 15 cents per mile more -- than diesel buses, according to a 2006 analysis.


--Salem, OR to run buses on b20 - USA and Canada - USA and Canada - BioDieselNow

Though I have to say I think another reason was not having all the eggs in one basket.

Steve Fung said...

http://green.autoblog.com/2010/09/01/up-to-475-cng-powered-buses-headed-to-new-york-city/

New york just bought some CNG buses from New Flyer.