Retooling takes time and money. We appreciate this fact. However, when public funds are involved in the retooling, it behooves us to consider the returns on such investments.

Even if everything goes precisely as planned, the Butler Transit Authority is taking a significant risk by pumping piles of money into its conversion to buses that run on compressed natural gas, or CNG.

The authority board is leasing a temporary CNG fueling station for $7,212 a month. Compass Natural Gas of Mechanicsburg is providing the fueling station and will sell the compressed gas to the authority for $1.95 per gallon of gasoline equivalent.

Within a few days the authority will begin using three CNG powered buses for city routes. The fourth city bus will be a traditional, diesel-powered unit.

Construction of a permanent fueling station will begin in the spring. By then, CNG-powered buses will be added for daily service between Butler and Pittsburgh. The authority is considering leases for park and ride sites in three locations, at a combined cost of $16,600 per year, including the cost of snow removal. Three more park and ride leases are pending.

It’s noteworthy that the Transit Authority had $2.8 million in operating expenses in the most recent fiscal year but only $191,000 in operating revenue. In other words, it takes nearly 15 times the amount of cash to operate the bus service compared with the cash it collects in rider fares.

The shift to CNG buses might seem unnecessary, but the move is bold and necessary. Natural Gas is cleaner and more efficient than diesel, and less polluting. CNG engines burn quieter and longer and require less maintenance. The Marcellus Shale revolution in Western Pennsylvania makes natural gas plentiful. It’s likely that diesel-powered buses eventually will be banned in urban areas like Pittsburgh if not elsewhere.

The BTA provides all-day unlimited transportation around town for $3 a day, free for senior citizens. The service BTA provides is vital.

The question is whether it’s 15 times as vital to the people paying as it is to the people actually riding.