Increase in Public Transportation Vehicles Running on Alternative Fuel

The American Public Transportation Association released a report on Tuesday, Earth Day, that showed the dramatic increase in transit agencies turning to alternative fuels to run their fleets.  In fact, last year more than 40 percent of all transit buses nationwide ran off of alternative fuels.  "One in five transit buses runs on natural gas. Another 13 percent are hybrid-electric and 7 percent run on biodiesel, according to APTA," (Daniel C. Vock, Governing.com.)

Alternative fuel usage in transit vehicles has grown tremendously over the past ten years as can be seen in this chart:

(image courtesy of Governing.com)

Although the environmental benefits of natural gas vehicles have been debated, the financial savings can be clearly seen.  It is more expensive initially to buy vehicles that run on natural gas when compared to regular diesel vehicles, however the money saved in fuel very quickly pays for initial additional cost.

The South Bend Public Transportation Corporation in South Bend, Ind., is an example of a transit agency getting rid of diesel vehicles and switching to natural gas.  They had been paying approximately $3.04/gallon for diesel, whereas the equivalent amount in natural gas is only around $1.  They expect to save at least half of their $1.2 million fuel budget in a year.  They feel using alternative fuels is a better, smarter way to make taxpayer dollars go farther.

Additionally, natural gas is readily available for production in the United States, meaning prices will remain steady and low in the future, as opposed to the constantly fluctuating, high diesel prices.

Worldwide Energy has experts in natural gas fleet conversion service.  Call our offices today at 913.310.0705 to see what options are available, don't overspend at the pump any longer!

Source: Transit Agencies Turn to Alternative Fuels, Daniel C. Vock