COTA Adding Buses that run on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)

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COTA Adding Buses that run on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)

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Started 6 months ago by News
Latest reply from Analogue Kid

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News
Columbus Underground
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COTA switching to buses that run on natural gas
By Robert Vitale
The Columbus Dispatch
Monday November 14, 2011 12:09 AM

Central Ohio Transit Authority officials say they see little downside in a planned switch to buses that run cheaper, quieter and cleaner on compressed natural gas. They plan to buy natural gas-burning buses as early as 2013 — new pumps must be installed first — and they think federal grants will be available to cover much of the cost. The new buses cost more to buy but less to fuel and repair.

READ MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2011/11/13/cota-switching-to-buses-that-run-on-natural-gas.html

Posted 6 months ago #
OSUPhantom
The Ohio State University
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Great news! Public transportation can lead the way in a greener future!

Posted 6 months ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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The Franklin County Landfill recently began processing CNG. I wonder if COTA can utilize any of that?

MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/where-all-of-the-franklin-county-trash-ends-up

Posted 6 months ago #
irishred
Clintonville
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Walker said:
The Franklin County Landfill recently began processing CNG. I wonder if COTA can utilize any of that?

MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/where-all-of-the-franklin-county-trash-ends-up

Otherwise we'll be riding via fracked gas. Not exactly "green". I guess you could argue it's a little "greener" than full diesel and better for urban air quality.
I would think the better long term play would be hybrids (which save money over the life of the bus) to eventually full electric (charged with renewables.)

Posted 6 months ago #
byersj

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Ironic that irishred calls for using electricity produced mainly by coal-fired generation plants over the cleaner alternative fuel that is currently widely available in the US - natural gas.

To quote Christopher Flavin of the Washington, D.C.–based World Resources Institute. "Compared with coal, natural gas allows a 50 to 70 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions," he said. "It's a good complement to the wind and solar generators that will be the backbones of a low-carbon electricity system."

Perhaps someday those wind and solar generators will be more than just pie in the sky. In the meantime, natural gas is the only practical US alternative to taxpayer subsidized corn-based ethanol.

Posted 4 months ago #
Analogue Kid
5th by West-Northwest
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byersj said:
...to taxpayer subsidized corn-based ethanol.

Not subsidized anymore: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/29/9804028-6-billion-a-year-ethanol-subsidy-dies-but-wait-theres-more

Posted 4 months ago #