The Central Arkansas Transit Authority capped its five-year flirtation with compressed natural gas with what its executive director called a "transformative decision" Tuesday.
The agency's board of directors finally embraced the alternative fuel by approving five separate proposals worth a total of $9.3 million that will lead to the purchase of 15 buses designed to run on compressed natural gas and the construction of a station to fuel them.
The buses should arrive by August 2015, about two months after the fueling station is built, said Jarod Varner, the agency's executive director.
"This has been on all our minds, on our agenda for -- I would hesitate to say [how long]," said Nicole Heaps, the chairman of the CATA board.
Heaps pointed to the staff's ability to find more grant money to purchase 15 buses instead of the initially proposed nine as an exciting development.
"The more buses we're able to purchase ... the higher the cost savings will be for the CNG," she said, referring to compressed natural gas.
The transition to compressed natural gas dates back to at least 2009, when a proposal pushed by former North Little Rock Mayor Patrick Hays to convert the fleet and end its reliance on diesel collapsed after Little Rock decided against putting up its share of a $5 million grant.
Hays, some members of the agency's board and other local elected leaders have been pushing for the switch because natural gas is less expensive than diesel and is said to burn more cleanly than oil-based fuels.
In a study of adding nine natural gas buses to its fleet, CATA projected to save $198,000 in fuel costs for the first 12 months the buses operate, assuming a retail cost equivalent of $1.54 per gallon for natural gas. CATA pays $3.10 a gallon for diesel under its most recent contract.
Supporters pressed on even after a 2011 CATA-commissioned study on alternative fuels by the University of Arkansas at Little Rock concluded that the agency should continue to run diesel buses and gradually add diesel-electric hybrid buses instead of switching to compressed natural gas vehicles.
But as long as the political will exists to use compressed natural gas and it makes financial sense, the decision is a "smart choice," Varner said.
"We have a portion of our fleet that is aging," he said. "Our board understands the need to keep a state-of-the-art fleet. The transition shows a commitment to the environment. Clean-burning natural gas can go a long way to improving air quality."
The new buses will replace eight 2001 buses in the agency's fleet of 59 buses in regular passenger service and seven 2003 buses. Three 2003 models will remain. Two have had their engines replaced and a third is scheduled to have its engine replaced, Varner said.
CATA operates bus service for partners Little Rock, North Little Rock, Sherwood, Maumelle and unincorporated portions of Pulaski County in exchange for municipal and county subsidies covering $11.8 million of the transit authority's $15.8 million budget.
The money behind the conversion effort comes from the transit agency, its partners, Southwestern Energy, the Arkansas Energy Office and the Federal Transit Administration.
The transit agency, after an internal audit of its grants, found it had the money -- about $7.1 million -- to finance the purchase of 15 compressed natural gas buses, or six more than the agency initially envisioned, Varner said. The buses, at $465,000 each, will cost just under $7 million.
The money was augmented in part by the discovery of about $1 million left over from a 2012 Federal Transit Administration grant as well as funds from other grants, Varner said.
The commission also approved two separate contracts to design, build, maintain and operate the natural gas fueling station.
Trillium CNG, a Chicago-based company that bills itself as a single-source provider of compressed natural gas fuel facility, design, construction, operation and maintenance, has a $2.1 million contract to design and construct the station on the northwest corner of CATA's headquarters at 901 Maple St. in North Little Rock. It also will maintain and operate the station for one year for an estimated $120,000.
The commission also approved allowing Varner to sign a contract with the Little Rock architecture firm Lockeby & Associates to provide "detailed design and construction oversight of the facility modifications necessary to accommodate CNG vehicles" for a fee not to exceed $88,633.26.
Also receiving approval was a proposal to allow CenterPoint Energy to install a 450-foot-long gas main, a 400-foot service line and a meter and regulator station on CATA property in exchange for a five-year transportation gas service agreement totaling $135,235.
Approval of the new buses came the same day the agency marked National Transit Driver Appreciation Day, noted Jason Smedley, the agency's spokesman.
"It's going to greatly improve the customer experience," Varner said. "The operators are going to love it, too."
Metro on 03/19/2014