CATA natural-gas conversion stalls

Agency to decide bus buy on Jan. 17, but NLR yet to commit station cash

The Central Arkansas Transit Authority’s plan to convert its bus fleet from running on diesel fuel to using compressed natural gas remains stuck in neutral with time running out.

Given the age of the fleet, the CATA board will have to make a decision on whether to purchase diesel or compressed natural gas buses at its next regular meeting, which is scheduled for Jan. 17.

In September, the public agency’s board of directors voted to commit $688,000 from its reserves and anticipated budget savings from 2013 toward building a $2 million compressed natural gas refueling station for its buses as part of a maintenance facility renovation. Under the plan, CATA also would reallocate another $350,000 in federal and state funds to the project.

The balance of the cost of the project relies on CATA receiving a combined commitment of another $1,031,000 from local funding partners Little Rock, North Little Rock, Pulaski County, Sherwood and Maumelle. The four cities and the county provide about $11.78 million of CATA’s $15.66 million operating budget.

Little Rock last week adopted its 2014 budget that includes its share, about $387,000. Pulaski County has committed a similar amount. The third-biggest partner, North Little Rock, has not.

Its share of the money for the project, about $243,000, isn’t part of the 2014 budget the North Little Rock City Council will consider tonight.

“I thought I had a little more time to look at it,” North Little Rock Mayor Joe Smith said last week. “It’s too late in the game right now to throw it in and change the budget.”

But that doesn’t mean Smith won’t try to come up with the money, he said.

Smith said he hopes to come back to the council next month with legislation asking to amend the budget to designate at least some of the money toward CATA.

“That gives me time to look for the money and to talk to our council members then amend the budget if they wish to do so,” Smith said.

Smith said he has discussed with CATA Executive Director Jarod Varner the possibility of financing half of his city’s commitment this year and the balance of it in 2015, given how long it will take to build the fuel station, about 18 months.

“I’m a firm believer that [compressed natural gas] is the direction CATA’s bus fleet needs to go in,” Smith said. “So I’m certainly going to support it.”

The $125,000 request will come at a time when Smith and council members have agreed to take stricter looks at the city budget in order to be able to meet residents’ needs, replace outdated equipment and come up with additional revenue without eliminating jobs.

The amounts from the agency’s funding partners are based on local match pledges made in the spring by CATA, Little Rock, North Little Rock and the county, which were needed for CATA to apply for a $10 million federal grant. Maumelle and Sherwood didn’t commit to a pledge. CATA was one of 568 grant applicants, but didn’t receive any of the available funding announced in September.

CATA directors first discussed in 2009 the possibility of converting the bus fleet’s fuel from diesel to compressed natural gas, but have more seriously considered a changeover since early 2011. The discussions have resulted in the agency delaying replacing buses for about two years.

Other options to building a compressed natural gas refueling station aren’t feasible.

North Little Rock has a city-owned compressed natural gas station on Curtis Sykes Drive about two blocks west of Interstate 30 downtown, and Little Rock is building a city-owned station that will offer compressed natural gas, diesel and unleaded gasoline at East Sixth and Ferry streets on an Interstate 30 access road. Neither site will accommodate the fueling needs of CATA’s buses, agency officials have previously said.

At the same time, CATA is past due to order nine buses to replace 2001-year models that have more than 500,000 miles and have exceeded their 12 years of “useful life.” A bus order takes about 18 months or more to be filled, agency officials say.

The 2001 buses are used as spare vehicles in the 59-bus fleet, but “obviously cause a lot of issues” when they are put out on the streets, Varner said.

CATA has a $1 million federal grant that would buy two compressed natural gas buses, but those funds can’t be used for any other purpose, Varner said. Diesel buses are about $50,000 less expensive than compressed natural gas buses, but fuel costs are higher.

Smith’s proposal “would make that choice a little more complex,” Varner said. “Clearly, we’re out of time.”

Smith acknowledges the timing is difficult for CATA, but it is also difficult for the city, he said.

“If we don’t fund that, or don’t do our part, that delays CATA going to [compressed natural gas] by at least five years,” Smith said. “If that’s the case, that’s sad. Timing is everything, I guess. I want it to happen and I need more than a week to work on it.”

Arkansas, Pages 9 on 12/23/2013

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