National Clean Bus Network

Environmental & Energy Study Institute

February 2003 Clean Bus Update

 The Clean Bus Update is a monthly electronic periodical that provides an overview of current program and policy activities related to clean buses, including advanced vehicle technology issues, alternative fuels, clean air, and energy efficiency. The National Clean Bus Network is an informal coalition of public and private sector organizations working to increase the use of a broad range of cleaner bus technologies. Email Ray Minjares or visit the National Clean Bus Project website for more info.

TEA-3 Recommendations to be Distributed to Members of Congress

Recommendations for the reauthorization of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21^st Century (TEA-3) have been developed by various members of the National Clean Bus Network to advocate for greater support for alternative fuel buses and fueling infrastructure in our nation’s transportation system. A final draft of this document is being completed and will be distributed to select members of House and Senate committees the second week of March. Fifteen organizations representing a wide variety of public transit, public health, technology, fuel and environmental interests have agreed to sign on. The document will be distributed to all members of the Clean Bus Network for use in their own work and discussions. Thank you to all who have given input to make this a strong, convincing message for clean buses and the important role they play in resolving the many problems associated with petroleum diesel.

Clean Bus Awards Program Under Development

To recognize successes in the use of alternative fuels and advanced vehicle technologies, the Environmental & Energy Study Institute will be sponsoring a Clean Bus Awards program to educate policymakers, decision makers, and other interested parties about the transitions being made at the local level and the important impact cleaner buses have on surrounding communities. If you would like to contribute any information about such important success stories, or have any ideas about what should be included in this awards program, please forward your comments to Ray Minjares or mrminjares@hotmail.com

Bush Administration Releases DOT Budget Proposal

On February 3^rd Deputy Secretary Michael Jackson presented on behalf of the Bush Administration a 54.3 billion dollar budget proposal for the Department of Transportation’s fiscal year 2004. Included in the proposal is an increase in highway funding to 29.3 billion up from 27.6 billion, with no requested increase in funding for the Federal Transit Administration, whose budget would remain even with last year’s request at 7.2 billion. Several programs within the Federal Transit Administration would be consolidated and modified under the current proposal. The administration would like to change eligibility for the New Starts program to include new non-fixed guideway systems like Bus Rapid Transit, a cost-effective mass transit option. In its present form the New Starts Program is dedicated only to fixed guideway systems. Currently, state and local governments are required to provide a twenty percent match to receive New Starts funds, but the proposal requests that this match be raised to fifty percent. In an apparent blow to clean bus projects, the administration proposes transferring funds from the Clean Fuels Formula Grant program, which provides money for the purchase and leasing of alternative fuel technology buses and fueling infrastructure, to the Urbanized, Non-Urbanized Formula and New Starts programs. The reduction of such funding is victim to two arguments: (1) that President Bush’s hydrogen fuel cell initiatives are a greater priority and that (2) retrofit technology in combination with low-sulfur diesel is enough to mitigate air quality problems until fuel cells become commercially available. Through consolidation and tight funding, the current proposal sacrifices dedicated clean bus funding for other priorities. While it may seem that Bus Rapid Transit has wide support within the current proposal, it should be a priority for clean bus advocates to make sure these systems take advantage of alternative fuels and advanced vehicle technologies.

Year 2002 the Second Warmest Year on Record

On January 23, 2002 the National Climatic Data Center released the Annual Climate Review for the year 2002. Global temperatures were .56˚C (1.01˚F) greater than the 1880-2001 average, which makes last year the second warmest year on record. The warmest year on record is 1998, during which global temperatures were 0.87°C (1.57°F) higher than the average. In 2002, the Greenland Ice Sheet underwent its greatest amount of melting since satellite monitoring began 24 years ago. Carbon dioxide gas emitted through the combustion of fossil fuels like petroleum diesel is thought to contribute to global warming. Buses can reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide by increasing fuel efficiency with hybrid and regenerative braking technologies, or by transitioning to alternative fuels like natural gas, biodiesel, and others.

View the NCDC Report here.

Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition Survey Reveals Even Greater Numbers of Alternative Fuel Buses

An article in last month’s edition of the Clean Bus Update provided data and information taken from the American Public Transit Association’s Compendium of Alternative Fuel Vehicles in U.S. Transit as of January 1, 2002. The data compiled in this compendium is taken from surveys of about 300 transit agencies, representing about 67% of buses in the United States.

The Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition (NGVC) each year takes the data provided by the American Public Transit Association (APTA) and prepares a report, the NGVC Analysis of the Transit Bus Market, on the current and projected market share for natural gas buses in the public transit sector. The information builds upon the APTA data to be more comprehensive, providing information from transit agencies that did not submit a response to the APTA survey and/or that are not already included in the APTA database. The following information provided by the NGVC accounts for about 95 percent of all natural gas buses in the U.S. and revises the natural gas bus figures given in the January Clean Bus Update.

54,953 transit buses were listed in active service in the APTA database as of December 31, 2001, 6,264 or 11.4 percent were powered by natural gas. This number is up significantly from the 9% reported in last year’s analysis, although part of this gain may be attributed to the difference in the size of the database. Most of the natural gas buses listed in active service were dedicated vehicles, although a small number (<75) were either bi-fuel or natural gas hybrid vehicles.

NGVC has identified 86 transit agencies that had natural gas buses in active service at the end of 2001, with 21 located in California, 6 in Texas, and 5 each in New York, Pennsylvania and Arizona. The rest were deployed in 25 other states. Forty-three transit agencies have 25 or more natural gas buses in operation, while 18 agencies have 100 or more.

Importantly, it appears that the trend toward increased use of natural gas powered buses will continue.  Of the 6,166 buses reported “on order” as of January 1, 2002, 1,313 or 21.3 percent are powered all or in part by natural gas (CNG or LNG).  Of the reported 11,195 “potential bus orders” for 2002 –2005 (i.e., orders planned but not yet under contract), 3,120 or 27.9 percent are powered all or in part by natural gas.  Compared to last year’s NGVC analysis, the number and percentage of confirmed orders is down (from 1,812 or 24 percent), while the number and percentage of potential orders is up (from 2,850 or 25 percent).

Additional sources of data, other than APTA, were identified and pursued for a more complete picture of the transit bus market. These include the California Transit Association’s Transit Fare Summary 2001-02, where participating transit agencies provide brief summaries of their current fleet inventories and, in some cases, future purchase plans.  Also investigated were the websites of dozens of state transit associations and those of individual transit authorities, especially those operating in large metropolitan areas.