Mass Transit - 28

 Special Report: U.S. Bus Fleets

Fuel Options

ALTERNATIVE FUELING OPTIONS CONTINUE TO GAIN ACCEPTANCE
The transit industry in general continues to migrate away
from fossil fuel usage to lower emission sources. In 2010,
diesel fueled nearly three-quarters of all bus miles, but that
number now stands at approximately 46 percent, based on
National Transit Database information.
The reasons for the move are varied and include state or
municipal mandates, community interest and the availability
of grant funding to ease the financial commitment to new
vehicles and infrastructure. The techology's continued evolution is delivering better performing hybrid and electric buses
while advanced software is lending a hand to the planning of
these fuel transitions.
To aid in the further enhancement of the technology, the
Canadian Urban Transit Research and Innovation Consortium
(CUTRIC) has partnered with OCAD University, Ontario Tech
University, Queen's University, the University of Windsor,
Centennial College, York University and Canadian Nuclear
Labs to create North America's first cluster of post-secondary
institutions dedicated to researching battery-electric and fuel
cell electric buses. Josipa Petrunic, executive director and

CEO of CUTRIC, said the work will help support a federal initiative to electrify 5,000 buses across Canada.
"Our consortium provides the data-driven insights required
by municipal, provincial and federal governments to implement electric bus fleets in a way that saves tax dollars over
the long-term and improves transit to make it the primary
choice for mobility for Canadians in the future. Our work
will remove the barriers of uncertainty and high risk associated with the adoption of electrified propulsion technologies," said Petrunic.
In February, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation
announced it would add 155 electric buses to its fleet in the
next two years, which represents the largest single order for
electric buses in U.S. history. Another zero-emission vehicle emission record was set in February with the debut of
the largest transit-operated hydrogen fueling station in the
United States at Orange County Transportation Authority's
(OCTA) Santa Ana Bus Base. The hydrogen fueling station
can support up to 50 vehicles, including 10 OCTA expects
to have in service by 2021.

Total Miles on Active Vehicles by Fuel Type
Hydrogen

2010

Electric Battery
Liquified Petroleum Gasoline

2013

Hybrid Gasoline

2014

Gasoline

Liquified Natural Gas
Hybrid Diesel
2015

Compressed Natural Gas
Diesel

2016

2017
2018
NTD Revenue Vehicle Inventory

Average MPG/MPGe*

*kWh to MPGe calculated by taking kWh per mile, multiplied by 33.705	

4.77 MPG

Diesel

8.45 MPG

Gasoline
Liquified Petroleum Gas
Compressed Natural Gas
Other Fuel

4.05 MPG
3.17 MPG
3.75 MPG

Electric Propulsion
Electric Battery

More
than
9%
of rubber-tired vehicles
currently on order
are zero emission

4.98 MPGe
14.36 MPGe
NTD 2018 Fuel and Energy

28 |

Mass Transit | MassTransitmag.com | APRIL/MAY 2020
http://www.MassTransitmag.com
Mass Transit

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