AGENDA #2a

 

BUDGET WORKING PAPER

 

TO:                  W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager

 

FROM:            Mary Lou Kuschatka, Transportation Director

 

SUBJECT:       Additional Information Regarding Operation of Small 12-Year Buses

 

DATE:             April 2, 2003

 

 

This report provides information on the advantages and disadvantages and operating costs of operating different sizes of transit vehicles.

 

DISCUSSION

 

Most transit systems in the United States favor a “standard” bus with a 12-year life span.  These vary in length from 35 to 60 feet.  Depending on demographics, topography and local preferences, they also may operate smaller versions of the standard bus.  These generally are in the 29 to 35 foot range but are constructed to big bus standards.  A third option available is the small light-duty bus built on a truck chassis.  These are referred to as “cut aways” and are generally less than 29 feet and have a 5 to 7 year life span.

 

Chapel Hill Transit currently operates a fleet of 80 standard 35-foot and 3 light duty 25-foot buses.

 

Each type of vehicle has advantages and disadvantages.

 

Large” standard bus (35 to 60 feet, 12 year life span):

Advantages

 

Disadvantages

 

 

“Small” standard bus (29 to 35 feet, 12 year life span):

Advantages

 

Disadvantage

 

“Small” light-duty bus (less than 29 feet, 5 to 7 year life span):

Advantages

 

Disadvantages

 

OPERATIONAL PHILOSOPHY

 

Ridership patterns since inception of fare-free service have placed an increased demand on the system.  On certain routes the 35-foot bus is not able to accommodate all of the passengers.  This results in the additional cost of adding “tripper” buses to transport the overflow passengers.  Standard 40-foot buses would operate without difficulty on most of Chapel Hill Transit’s routes.

 

However, there remain places where a small bus can be used to advantage.  Those include routes where fewer than 16 passengers are carried on each trip.  The M Shuttle, which operates weekdays between Crest and Cole and the University Mall, is a prime example.  The route provides an east-west connector and supplements existing service along East and West Franklin Streets.  The small buses could also be used on service operated after 8:00PM due to reduced passenger demands.  There are segments of several routes that could be served with smaller vehicles if the routes are reconfigured.

 

 

A light-duty bus is less costly to buy than a standard bus, and fueling costs are marginally lower due to increased fuel economy. Ongoing maintenance costs, however, are high because the light-duty bus lacks the durability of a standard 12-year bus.

 

The table below presents summarizes key information.

 

Type of vehicle

Purchase

price

Replacement

cost/year

MPG

Fuel

cost/mile

Repair cost/mile

Maintenance cost/mile

Standard 35/40 foot

$260,000

$21,666

3.7

.27

$0.05

$0.32

Standard small

$210,000

$17,500

4.6

.22

$0.22

$0.44

Light-duty small

$111,000

$15,857

6.5

.15

$0.33

$0.48

Data is based on comparison of 14 standard 35-foot vehicles purchased in 1990 and the three small light-duty buses purchased in 2000. 

Fuel cost is based on $1.00 per gallon.

CONCLUSION

 

We continue to believe that a standardized fleet composed mostly of 35- and 40-foot buses will provide the most efficient, comfortable and convenient service to the majority of the passengers.

 

While the initial purchase price of a small light-duty bus is attractive, any perceived savings would be consumed by the costs of keeping the vehicle in service.  Since the small light-duty bus can carry 24 passengers as opposed to 50 in a standard 35-foot bus a fleet composed entirely of small light-duty buses would need to be twice the size of a “standard” fleet to accommodate the same number of riders.  Actual operating costs would more than double due to the corresponding increase in the number of drivers and mechanics as well as an increase in facility size.

 

However, since the small transit vehicle does now appear to have a limited role in our growing service area, we feel it prudent to keep these small vehicles in our fleet mix.  We believe that future purchases of this type of vehicle, however, should be a “standard” type of vehicle rather than the “light-duty” version because of passenger comfort, reliability and maintenance costs.