Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
•
Fuel economy of a CNG bus is 6.13 mpDGE, which is calculated as a
12.5% reduction in efficiency from diesel school buses (Linder 2009).
•
Incremental cost is $31,376 (average of four sources—Linder 2009,
Leonard et al. 2001, Cohen 2005, and USCS 2003—where the latter
three sources have been adjusted for inflation).
•
Bus lifetime (15 years) is taken from
School Bus Fleet Magazine
's
2009 Maintenance Survey.
Refuse Trucks
•
Average VMT of a refuse truck is 25,000 miles/year (Gordon et al.
2003).
•
Fuel economy of a diesel refuse truck is 2.8 mpg (Gordon et al. 2003).
•
Fuel economy of a CNG refuse truck is 2.51 mpDGE, which is
calculated as a 10.5% reduction in efficiency from diesel refuse trucks
(Gordon et al. 2003).
•
Incremental cost of a CNG refuse truck is $30,295 (average of three
sources: Lemmons 2009, Andrews 2009, and San Antonio 2009).
•
Useful life of a refuse truck is 12 years (Gordon et. al. 2003 and
Lemmons 2009).
Maintenance and Operation Costs
This section describes some maintenance and operation (M&O) costs
associated with vehicles and CNG stations.
Vehicle M&O
Maintenance and operation costs for a CNG bus are considered the same
as those for a diesel bus because evidence supports both a cost decrease
(Chandler et. al 2006) and a cost increase (CVEF 2010) when switching from
CNG to diesel. The unclear cost signal portrayed in these studies represents a
factor that is in flux due to maintenance learning curves, new diesel emissions
equipment, a sub-competitive CNG parts market, and other factors. This cost
parity for CNG buses is assumed to apply to CNG refuse trucks as well, which
is supported by Engle (2010).
CNG Station M&O
The VICE model assumes that M&O costs for a diesel refueling station
are wrapped into the retail price of diesel fuel because the fuel retailer needs to
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