11-28-2016, 08:26 PM
(11-28-2016, 06:21 PM)BuildingScout Wrote: New Flyer buses cost twice as much as regular diesel buses. As stated in the Record article, we will have a more significant positive impact on the environment by running twice as many buses than by running expensive 100% electric buses.
It wasn't exactly "stated" in the article- that conclusion wasn't the result of a thorough environmental impact analysis, it was just Outhit's opinion. And he was talking specifically about the few hybrid diesels we do run.
It's hard to get into a conversation about numbers when we don't have them. Electric buses are a much higher upfront cost, but save on fuel and are a lot cheaper to maintain. Those savings can be estimated by GRT, and I wouldn't be surprised if electric buses do not yet pay for themselves on those terms. But there are other costs in terms of health impacts of air pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions, that unfortunately aren't part of the decision-making process (even though the Region says they should be). It would be nice if our Region took a leadership role and piloted these types of new technologies; it wouldn't be reasonable for all the added cost to come out of GRT's budget, though.