The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Board to buy efficient vehicles
Less than a month into the new year, Laketran already has made a significant step forward in its goal to aggressively find ways to make its service more efficient.
As the transit agency’s Dial-a-Ride ridership continues to grow together with Lake County’s aging population, one of those strategies is transitioning the 85-bus Dial-a-Ride fleet from diesel fuel to propane.
“There are some expenses we can’t cut,” said General Manager Ben Capelle. “You can’t cut labor cost without cutting service, so we need to get a little more creative. Tightening standards for emissions and shrinking budgets have been driving the transportation industry toward alternative fuels now more than ever before, so propane is one of our solutions.
“By operating propanefueled buses, we’re reducing our fuel expenses by 35 percent and saving on maintenance expenses. The savings are actually better than we anticipated because the fuel economy is better than projected. So, thus far, the propane buses have been even better than we thought and we want to buy more.”
Propane is a clean-burning fuel because of its low carbon content and significantly reduces smogforming hydrocarbons and greenhouse emissions, over gasoline and diesel fuels, according to a Laketran news release. Additionally, propane is Americanmade, reducing dependence on foreign oil.
Last year, Laketran also added two new, smaller eight-passenger Dial-a-Ride buses, Turtle Top VT3’s, to the fleet. The ADA-accessible bus is equipped with a wheelchair lift, safety cameras, electronic fare box, and GPS-enabled automatic vehicle locators, to name a few features.
Laketran has spent the last six months testing both its traditional Ford E-450 and new VT3 model to prepare for purchase of replacement vehicles.
“Both our drivers and customers have had positive feedback on how they operate,” Capelle said.
During the Jan. 22 Laketran Board of Trustees meeting, the board approved the purchase of 11 replacement vehicles, including six VT3 model buses.
“We’re replacing 8-yearold vehicles with 200,000 to 250,000 miles on them,” Capelle said. “There are significant maintenance savings when you can operate newer vehicles, so we’re continuously looking for capital funding for replacement vehicles.”
Piecing together federal grants that can fund up to 80 percent of vehicle purchases, Laketran is relying on Federal Transportation Administration’s Enhanced Mobility for Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities program that provides capital grants for transit agencies to meet the needs of seniors and individuals with disabilities, in addition to Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality grants that provide federal funding for statewide transportation projects in urban areas of Ohio that need to improve congestion and air quality.
Both these programs are administered through Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency.
Laketran will award a contract to Oregon, Ohiobased TESCO bus for the purchase of the 11 propane buses at a cost of $1,301,756. The buses are expected to be in operation by late summer. The local 20 percent match is paid through Laketran’s local sales tax levy.
Laketran Board President Brian Falkowski said the agency should have 35 percent of its Dial-a-Ride fleet transitioned, with 30 propane buses on the road, by the end of the year.
“Our original goal was to transition the fleet in five years, but at this replacement pace we may see the cost savings even sooner,” Falkowski said. “If we can find a way to operate more efficiently and environmentally friendly, we’re going to push to do that as soon as possible.”
Dial-a-Ride is Laketran’s door-to-door, shared-ride service primarily used by seniors and people with disabilities, but is open to the general public. Dial-a-Ride is provided throughout Lake County and to limited medical facilities in Cuyahoga County and includes special programs such as Veterans Medical Transportation and Medicaid Non-Emergency Transportation.