Dallas Transit Selects Natural Gas, Seeks $120 Million Savings
As transit ridership continues to rise and fuel costs stretch budgets, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), serving a population of 1.2 million, has opted to transition its entire bus fleet to compressed natural gas (CNG).
This decision was made after careful analysis which included comparing and contrasting numerous alternative fuel options including “clean diesel” which, according to energy provider, Clean Energy Fuels, “didn’t offer significant greenhouse gas or fuel-cost reduction, and diesel/electric hybrid buses which were cost-prohibitive.”
DART selected CNG, which it believes offers “both a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and fuel cost savings.”
To help DART make the switch, Clean Energy Fuels built natural gas fuel stations at DART’s bus operating facilities. In total, the company designed and built four CNG fueling stations and performed the necessary facility modifications.
When this transition is completed at the end of 2015, DART will be running 425 CNG buses and 200 par-transit vehicles.
For transit authorities who have already made this switch, and for others like DART, the migration to natural gas can, according to Clean Energy Fuels, result “in real savings, both monetarily and environmentally.”
With everything in place, DART anticipates savings of approximately $120 million over the next 10 years from fuel cost reductions alone.
Category: Fuel & Oil, General Update, Green, Transit News
Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
