Hybrid bus fleet enjoyed by passengers, officials

By Steve Mocarsky smocarsky@timesleader.comStaff Writer

Most folks who rode one of the Luzerne County Transportation Authority’s new diesel-electric hybrid buses said they are impressed with the spaciousness, cleanliness and quietness of the vehicle.

“I like it. It’s very warm. You can breathe; the air is cleaner in here. And I like the way they made the seats. The stop cords come down, so they’re easy to reach. It’s much bigger, more spacious. And it’s very quiet,” said Shavon Brown, 28, of Wilkes-Barre.

Brown said she rides LCTA buses often, but a recent trip on the No. 11 route from Public Square in Wilkes-Barre to Pittston via U.S. Route 11 was her first on a diesel-electric hybrid.

James P. Musto said he rides buses about four times a week just to get out of the house. Retired 10 years, he enjoys getting out and talking with other passengers.

Musto, 73, of Pittston, said he rode in a diesel-electric hybrid in Scranton, but he likes how quiet the LCTA bus is because it’s so new. “The old ones rattle. You know how the roads are here. The buses take a beating,” he said.

LCTA Executive Director Stan Strelish said he’s heard nothing but positive comments from passengers since the first of three new hybrids went into service on Jan. 4.

The hybrids, which were paid for with federal stimulus money, cost $522,000 each; diesel buses cost $322,000. But the manufacturer estimates that hybrids reduce fuel consumption by 30 to 40 percent, and they significantly reduce carbon emissions, Strelish said.

Strelish estimated a typical authority bus uses 8,620 gallons of diesel fuel per year. Given the current price the authority has locked in for fuel – $2.06 per gallon – and that the Federal Transportation Administration provides funding for a bus replacement every 12 years, the authority can expect fuel savings of about $64,000 to $85,000 over the life of a bus at the current price the authority pays for fuel.

Lifetime fuel savings would increase to between $96,000 and $127,000 if the price of fuel were $3.08 per gallon – the current state average for diesel.

Strelish said another important benefit is their effect on the environment. When the authority purchases five more hybrid buses later this year, he estimates the lifetime use of the eight buses will reduce the authority’s carbon footprint by 3,674 tons of carbon dioxide emissions over the lifetime of the buses.

He expects federal money will be available in 2011 for the purchase of seven more hybrids that year.

“And if more stimulus money becomes available, we will be looking at kits to transform conventional diesel engines into diesel-electric hybrids. We always have our eyes and our ears open here,” Strelish said.

As bus 903 was traveling down Wyoming Avenue in Forty Fort past a fire engine and ambulance parked in a driving lane last week, Operations Director Robb Henderson noted that area firefighters received training on how to handle the hybrid buses in an emergency situation.

Because 900 volts of electricity are carried through power lines from the roof to the back of the bus and then to the engine, fire crews could not cut through the bus body just anywhere to extricate passengers in the event of a major crash as they can with conventional buses.

Emergency responder information cards showing a diagram of the buses’ electrical systems were distributed to area fire departments, Henderson said.

The only other noticeable difference between hybrids and conventional buses are their weight, with hybrids coming in at 28,400 pounds compared to a diesel bus that weighs 27,560 pounds.

Driver Rich McNeil said he likes the fact that the hybrids have better braking power; the transmission automatically slows the bus down when the gas pedal is released without the driver having to brake significantly.

Passenger Jerome Brislin, 30, of Wilkes-Barre, said he appreciates that the hybrid buses are “cleaner for the environment,” although he and some other passengers dislike that the side windows by the 11 front seats are higher than in traditional buses. The rear seats are on an upper level two steps up.

Mike Stewart, 57, of Wilkes-Barre, doesn’t like it that there are only 11 seats on the lower level for senior citizens and handicapped people such as himself.

Strelish noted that passengers have to climb two steps when getting on the traditional buses if they don’t use a wheelchair ramp. He said he’s sure non-handicapped passengers would move from lower-level seats if there was no room for elderly or handicapped passengers on the lower level.

“If they didn’t, we would ask the individual to move. We’ve never had problems with anyone moving,” Strelish said.

Overall, Marie Lawson, 84, of Sugar Notch, said she likes the new buses for their spaciousness and cleanliness. But she admits they take a bit of getting used to after riding in noisy diesel buses for so many years.

“It’s too quiet on the bus,” Lawson said before getting off at the Kingston Senior Citizen Center.

Steve Mocarsky, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 970-7311.