New buses are clean, green

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New buses are clean, green

By Michael Maharrey, Times Staff Writer

Published March 5, 2008

 

http://www.sptimes.com/2008/03/05/Neighborhoodtimes/New_buses_are_clean__.shtml

 

Buses spewing clouds of black smoke will become a less familiar sight in

Pinellas County over the next several weeks.

 

Buses spewing clouds of black smoke will become a less familiar sight in

Pinellas County over the next several weeks.

 

The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority recently purchased 27 buses with a new

exhaust system that promises to reduce particulate emissions more than 90

percent compared to older models.

 

The new buses will conform to the Environmental Protection Agencies emissions

standards for new diesel engines that went into effect in 2007.

 

The new technology, called Active Diesel Particulate Filters, traps soot and

particles in a special filter. As particulates build up on the element, a sensor

detects the back pressure, which directs the engine to inject a small amount of

fuel into the chamber, incinerating the particles. The DPF system is so clean

that exhaust pipes show no buildup of soot, even after several thousand miles of

operation, according to a PSTA news release.

 

Bob Lasher, the PSTA community relations manager, said the new buses replace

those already at the end of their 12-year usable life cycle. Federal regulations

allow bus replacement after 500,000 miles or 12 years of service, and federal

grants will pay for the new vehicles, which cost about $328,000 each.

 

Lasher said PSTA already has 21 of the new buses on the road and will customize

the remaining six for the Suncoast Beach trolley routes. The new trolleys will

begin service within the next few weeks.

 

" Our residents along the beaches should appreciate them since they are quieter

than the old trolleys, " he said.

 

Gillig Corp. in Hayward, Calif., manufactures the new buses. Brian MacLeod, a

company spokesman, said the new buses significantly reduce pollution, with only

a minimal effect on fuel mileage.

 

" The DPF system may have a slight effect on fuel economy, but I don't think it's

even a measurable amount, " he said.

 

PSTA operates 205 vehicles. As the buses age, the transit authority also will

replace them with vehicles utilizing the new emission systems.

 

Lasher said ideally PSTA would retrofit the new technology onto the older buses,

but with the transit authority facing a 10 percent budget cut, the money simply

isn't there.

 

" People tend to think government agencies have a lot of pork. We simply didn't

have it and now we are cutting to the bone, " he said.

 

Lasher said even with the old exhaust systems, mass transit provides a much more

environmentally friendly way to get around.

 

Utilizing buses creates 95 percent less carbon monoxide and half the carbon

dioxide per passenger mile traveled when compared to single passenger vehicles,

according to the American Public Transportation Association.

 

PSTA boasts a ridership of more than 11.7-million passengers per year.

 

<em>Michael Maharrey can be reached at 727 893-8779 or </em><a

href= " mmaharrey. & lt;/p & gt; & lt;p & gt; & lt;p & gt; " ><em>mmaharrey@s\

ptimes.com.</em></a><a

href= " mmaharrey. & lt;/p & gt; & lt;p & gt; & lt;p & gt; " > 'By the

numbers'

 

</a>11.7-million - passengers per year on PSTA

 

500,000 - miles logged before federal regulations require buses to be replaced.

 

$328,000 - cost for each new bus

 

205 - number of vehicles PSTA operates

 

90 - percentage by which new buses will reduce emissions

 

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