Magazine serving the bus and rail transit & motorcoach operations since 1904
Issue link: https://metromag.epubxp.com/i/283391
APRIL 2014 BUS OPS A5 (GGE), and we anticipate this increasing an additional 50,000 to 75,000 GGE as we complete our transition to alternative fu- els. In addition to the cost savings by off- setting the ever-increasing price of diesel, we utilized a third-party gas supplier. This change reduced our average cost of gas from $0.7190 to $0.53516 per GGE, plus the cost of compression. ■ Stam: We monitor our route to ensure the highest level of effi ciency. We've also worked to stay ahead of major vehicle issues by investing in preventive maintenance. ■ Barr: We have reduced, even further, our tendency to idle our shuttles when- ever and wherever possible. [We] can't do much about the costs of fuel nor the insurance, although we operate nine Ori- on full-size CNG buses and one full-size hybrid-diesel bus. We've made an effort to increase our minor revenue income, such as in-bus marketing posters, and have ac- cepted a few more charter requests than normal. ■ Sandin: We have converted 50% of our fl eet to propane and gone to a captive in- surance plan because we have an impec- cable safety record. ■ Sherrell: We've converted most of our fl eet of 80 passenger vans to propane. We've also invested in two propane-fu- eled coaches. Teaching 'behavior' driving skills has become an important part of our training program. We now stress the importance of the seemingly small behav- iors, such as avoiding quick accelerations and quick stops, strictly obeying the speed limit and dramatically cutting down on idle time. Have you made any moves to grow your business? ■ Duncan: OSU Transit Services has no immediate plans for growth. Our current sustainable funding sources (5311 and stu- dent fees) are limited and leave little room for fi nancial stress. We are always looking for additional funding sources that can support fi xed-route growth. Possible op- portunities are the City of Stillwater and Payne County, via a sales tax allocation, private business and public donations. ■ Stam: Since we are on a college campus our 'business' grows as enrollment grows. We assist in recruitment efforts on cam- pus, including providing charter services for campus visit events. ■ Barr: Although we haven't movefor- ward as rapidly as I'd prefer, I have put forth an initiative to our university ad- What measures have you taken to offset rising costs, such as fuel and insurance? ■ Duncan: OSU Transit Services com- pleted our fi xed-route transition to CNG in 2012. Our paratransit services are cur- rently waiting on our last order of CNG buses to arrive, essentially moving our OSU-Stillwater Community Transit routes to 100% alternate fuels. This year, we are also beginning to con- vert our shuttle service (Stillwater-Tulsa) to CNG. We anticipate this transition to take one to three years, depending on funding availability. Since our transition to CNG, OSU-Stillwater Community Transit has seen a signifi cant cost savings. Our annual consumption of CNG is in the area of 150,000 gasoline gallon equivalent Q & A : S H U T T L E S E R V I C E S Converting to alternative fuels is one popular savings tactic, while recruiting and retaining great drivers is a shared concern. A s part of its effort to reach out to shuttle service providers, BusOps rounded up three university transit and two airport shuttle operators to fi nd out more about their services, the daily challenges they face and how they are increasing business. Operators say they are converting to alternative fuels to keep costs down. Meanwhile, ever-rising tuition costs are a growing concern. Our respondents are Tom Duncan, manager, transit services, Oklahoma State Uni- versity (OSU); Erin Suzanne Stam, director, parking and shuttle services, Northern Arizona University (NAU); Jim Barr, executive director, transportation and parking services, University of Vermont (UVM); Charles Sandin, operations manager, Road- runner Shuttle and Limousine Service; and Devin Sherrell, director, operations, Shuttle Express. Q&A; Shuttle Service Providers Talk Eff ciencies, Hurdles M E T 4 B u s O p s _ s h u t t l e 1 4 . i n d d A 5 MET4BusOps_shuttle14.indd A5 3 / 1 8 / 1 4 1 : 2 3 P M 3/18/14 1:23 PM