Albany Transit System wants to boost fleet of compressed natural gas buses

ALBANY — The wheels of the bus are powered by gas in Albany, and a proposed addition of three new compressed natural gas vehicles to the fleet would give the Albany Transit System a cushion for when others are down for repairs.

On Tuesday, city staff presented a recommendation to purchase three additional 35-foot buses at a cost of $1.87 million. The city will receive an 80 percent reimbursement — $1.49 million — from the Georgia Department of Transportation for the purchase.

Approval by the Albany City Commission would give the transit system a total of 18 large buses. The six smaller paratransit buses in the fleet, like the current 15 large buses, are all powered with natural gas.

“I want people to know we’re 100 percent CNG,” Ward III Commissioner B.J. Fletcher said during a telephone interview following the meeting. “Sometimes we have one or two buses out for maintenance, and we have to use some of the smaller buses. This will help reduce that.”

The buses also are environmentally friendly compared to the diesel units replaced by the city over the past few years.

“CNG is one of the cleanest fuels,” Fletcher said.

In addition to providing spare buses for the fleet, the new buses, if approved, would allow for route expansion and provide savings in fuel costs, Albany Transportation Director David Hamilton said.

“We have a 15%t savings in fuel costs right now,” compared to diesel, he said during a telephone interview.

Mayor Bo Dorough asked staff to consider electric buses when making future purchases. He also asked whether hybrid models had been considered in the bidding process.

Electric buses also could potentially save money on fuel costs as well as be a cleaner alternative, the mayor said.

“In the future, could we also get a quote for the more (environmentally friendly) electric?” he said. “I don’t know if you’d save $500,000 over the life of the bus. Not to belabor the point, but we’re going to have to build the (electric) infrastructure eventually.”

The commission is scheduled to vote next week on the recommended purchases.

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