http://www.insideindianabusiness.com...m.asp?ID=22023

Sounds like they are working just fine.

Bob Wilson

 

Oh Bob, don't confuse the naysayers with FACTS. What ever will they rant about?

 

Now how much more did the busses cost verses non-hybris busses. You can't take the savings without disclosing the added costs.

 

Hi,
Many times the operational budgets are different from the capital budgets. Also, new technologies often come in at a premium until manufacturing economies of scale kick-in. But one thing I got from the article was the break-out of different funding sources. There is also the intangibles of improved air quality . . . having followed ordinary diesel buses in the recent past.

Bob Wilson

 

I don't diagree with the qualities of reduced oil usage and I also can appreciate the differnet budgets as I am in construction and my funding is always from a different revenue stream than the operational budgets for the buildings I construct. But I also know that those budgets who provide the hard goods are not very likely to just pay more for something because they feel good about it. And those that operate the facilty or the product can't convince the supplier to get a more efficient version without some extrenal influences, so there has to be some kind of study showng the benifit to cost relationship for the purchasing department to come to the right decision.

I was just curious where the break-even point is for the tax payer who is funding this "experiment" that is saving the tax payer money.

 

I agree that it is an "experiment" and sometimes there are private-public efforts that move the technology forward. I've done a lot of work for NASA and the Dept. of Defense and there are some technologies that need to get through the "chicken or egg" stage. But like any "experiment," there is a risk of failure and the only question is who will take the first steps.

I am gratified to read they are seeing lower maintenance costs too. This is something the hybrid owners have noticed but never been able to crow about until after 'performing the experiment.'

What you're asking about is the 'total cost of ownership', which is a non-trivial question. After the buses get further into their life-time, we'll have useful numbers . . . as well as some understanding of the quality of life metrics.

Bob Wilson

 

After driving my new Prius for a week, it dawned on me that every car should be a hybrid!

And every bus!

(I remember the smoke-belching GM monstrosities that seemed to be the last thing anyone would want on city streets).

Someday we'll look back at ICE-only vehicles as odd antiques, like Model-T's.

Harry

 

From the perspective of the city, though, this sounds like an amazing deal. Not only do they have some kind of funding arrangment so that they only pay 10% of the purchase price of the bus (sounds unusual to me, but then again, I have no point of comparison), but their operational costs are way, way down. I wonder if the funding arrangment would have been the same with a non-hybrid bus? But in any case, I think it's great that public transportation is moving in the direction of hybrid technology. This is just the kind of thing that I want to see much more of! More hybrid buses, more hybrid taxis, more hybrid trucks.

Now, if we could get UPS or FEDEx or the postal service in on the hybrid game.... (sighs dreamily)... I wonder if there's a research agency somewhere doing work on putting hybrid engines into mail trucks? If not, there ought to be!! It couldn't possibly be cost prohibitive- I read yesterday that the Post Office essentially loses $3 million every time gas prices go up a penny.

 

"Now, if we could get UPS or FEDEx or the postal service in on the hybrid game.... "

http://www.fedex.com/us/about/respon...le.html?link=4

Fedex has their toe in, and the Eaton hybrid truck is worth keeping an eye on.

DAS

 

Hmmmmm.... interesting. Thanks for sharing Tochatihu, though it looks like a pretty small toe at the moment. They've had these trucks in operation since 2004 and there are currently only 18 of them? This from a company that has to have over a hundred thousand vehicles in its fleet? Not too terribly good, I have to say. But it's a step. A little step, but a step in the right direction nonetheless.