New Tech Gets On The Bus | Fed grant funds modernized WRTA fleet
Ask a random Worcesterite for a two-word phrase that suggests modern appearance, high technology and eco-friendly performance, and “city bus” would probably not be high on the list. But that could change, thanks to a $12 million federal stimulus grant that the Worcester Regional Transit Authority is using to modernize its fleet.
WRTA Administrator Stephen O’Neil said half the money will go to buying 15 new Gillig brand buses, including four hybrid vehicles. With seven buses that are less than 2 years old already on streets, he said, that will add up to half the fleet. And it will allow the authority to take tired, breakdown-prone buses off the city routes.
“They’re cleaner, they’re more enticing,” O’Neil said of the red, white and blue-painted new arrivals.
Rise Of The Machines
O’Neil said the other $6 million will pay for technological upgrades to be installed in the WRTA system over the next year. Computers on the buses will help them reach stops at even intervals and allow administrators to keep track of how many passengers get on and off at various spots. They’ll also let passengers receive notifications via cellphone when their buses are getting close.
New automatic display signs at Worcester City Hall and other key stops will tell riders when the next bus is coming. And, once people have boarded a bus, new displays and audio announcements will help make sure they don’t miss their stops.
The other two Central Massachusetts bus systems received smaller chunks of stimulus money. The Montachusett Regional Transit Authority, which received a major federal boost in the form of $55.5 million for its commuter rail line, received about $3.2 million for its buses.
MART Administrator Mohammed Khan said the money is paying for a new storage garage and three hybrid buses.
“We wanted to experiment with that because it gives a little better mileage,” Khan said of the hybrids.
Khan said that even after the new buses are delivered in a month or so, MART will still need to replace some of its older vehicles. It’s hoping for another round of stimulus funds in the future, he said.
The MetroWest Regional Transit Authority is only a few years old, and its fleet is new too, so it has less need for federal funds, according to Administrator Ed Carr. It received just $750,000. Carr said the MWRT is using some of the money to help fund its service for riders with disabilities. Another portion will pay for computers on “demand response vehicles,” which riders can schedule to bring them to appointments and errands.
“They can see vehicles coming to their house,” Carr said. “What it does is it relieves some of the anxieties that they have — cuts down on the phone calls.”
For both the WRTA and MART, the new electric-diesel hybrid buses are a supplement to the fleets rather than an immediate replacement for the bulk of the traditional vehicles. O’Neil said the hybrids cost between $100,000 and $110,000 more than other buses.
While some of that money will be reclaimed through fuel savings, the math is tricky. O’Neil said the working life of a transit bus is typically eight to 10 years. That may be enough time to save $100,000 or more on diesel, he said, but it depends on a number of factors, including fuel prices.
Either way though, O’Neil said there’s a clear environmental benefit.
“We don’t want to be spewing noxious fumes into the environment,” he said.
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