transportation personnel are what Taylor likes to call “out- of-the-box thinkers.” “[CNG] is expensive; in order to make it cost effective
you need help,” he added. “If prices for diesel continue to go north and the price of CNG remains relatively stable, you can probably afford to get all the benefits of this without the help. “Once you get to $4 to $5 a gallon, it won’t take long to
see the difference.” Te 47 new CNGs cost approximately $7 million total
from a larger $15 million pot awarded to the area by the Department of Energy Clean Cities Program. Te district received $2.35 million, or $50,000 per each bus, to cover the incremental cost. Kansas City is also utilizing an aggressive eight-year,
lease-to-purchase contract from Daimler Financial, and, factoring back into the equation estimated fuel savings of $250,000 a year and reduced maintenance intervals, Taylor said it will cost him about $5,319 a year to oper- ate each bus. Te district also utilized an additional $1 million in Clean
Cities money for the new fuel system. Next up is to ensure compliance with CNG specifications and standards for the shop by installing detection systems that monitor and
evacuate any escaped gas, an additional cost that Taylor said he believed would also be covered by grant funding. He said he also foresees spending less on brake sys-
tems maintenance despite the need for his technicians to navigate the learning curve of transitioning to air brakes, which come standard on the new CNGs. Te air brakes could also be safer. “In my opinion they have better stopping distances,” he
said. “Once we learn how to maintain them, they shouldn’t be very different than a vacuum brake. And there may be less wear and tear on the axle lining.” So far, the new buses are also exhibiting improved pow-
er. Kansas City’s drivers were initially skeptical because of the air brakes, but, according to Taylor, things changed once they got behind the wheel. Taylor said he would re- main on top of how the drivers respond to the newfound power under the hood. “[Punching the accelerator] could very well be an issue
I have to deal with, and we might have to go as far as us- ing governors,” he said. “We monitor the fleets tightly; we have new camera units and the buses are GPS-equipped. If somebody calls us and says, ‘I have a driver who’s speeding,’ I just pull it up on GPS, find the bus driver and discipline them accordingly.”
With this much riding on your securement system... You have to be sure.
Retractor Systems
Choose TITAN and give yourself and your passengers the peace of mind that comes with today’s leading retractor system:
n Unique yellow “locked” indicator tag n Fully automatic; unique auto-tension, auto-lock system n Self-retracting; no belts leſt on the floor n Wheelchairs secured in seconds with one hand
Experience the confidence, performance and safety that only TITAN can deliver. For more information visit
Sure-Lok.com/TITAN today.
Sure-Lok.com n 800-866-0004
www.stnonline.com 59
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76