CNG buses arrive
The buses have arrived.
The Butler Transit Authority received four of the five compressed natural gas coach buses Monday afternoon for its planned commuter service to Pittsburgh.
John Paul, authority executive director, said he hopes the new service — which will not make any stops en route to and from Pittsburgh — will reverse the trend of declining ridership and will increase revenue.
“It's also to make Butler more attractive as a commuter town, so people can live here and work in (Pittsburgh),” Paul said.
Paul said the service could begin as early as Jan. 1, 2018, and will start no later than July 1. Paul said the authority is aiming for the latter date, because that would mean the service begins on a new fiscal year.
However, it could begin earlier depending on PennDOT's decision. The authority is waiting on PennDOT to send a business plan regarding the buses before the service can start.
The authority already received $2.9 million in federal funds, and is awaiting an additional $730,000 in state and local match funds.
Each of the 45-foot buses has two handicap seating areas and 58 seats. There are storage compartments above the seats, and the buses have USB ports so people can charge their electronic equipment.
Riders also will be able to access the Internet on the bus.
There are safety belts for all of the seats, which recline.
“It's like being in an airplane, really,” Paul said. “There's a little more leg room.”
Paul said the fifth bus was in transit as of Monday afternoon. One of buses has a cracked windshield, but Paul said a replacement windshield has already been shipped to the authority.
The GPS system, fare boxes and wireless Internet capability still need to be installed. The GPS system will allow riders to track the location of the buses.
The buses will do three runs in the morning and three in the afternoon from Butler to Pittsburgh and back to Butler.
Paul said the authority hopes for the CNG fueling station that will house and fuel the buses to be ready by the spring of 2018.
The authority is looking into temporary fueling options in case the service begins before the station is ready.
Paul said compressed natural gas is a “much cleaner fuel” compared to diesel. He said the authority's diesel buses get about 4 miles per gallon, but that the compressed natural gas buses could get up to 6 miles per gallon equivalent. “There is a little more efficiency in some places that have been using (CNG buses), so we might get a little more because it's a new engine,” Paul said. “They've been getting close to (6 miles), which would be substantial.”
