Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 27, 1990 TAG: 9007270686
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER MUNICIPAL WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
An independent consultant's study has disclosed that the overall operational costs for the 25-passenger buses are virtually the same as the 37-passenger vehicles.
"From an overall economic viewpoint, there are no significant savings," said Stephen Mancuso, the bus company's general manager. "There is no difference from an economic standpoint."
Mancuso said Valley Metro and City Council will have to consider the study's findings when they buy 15 new buses later this year to replace 14-year-old vehicles that have traveled 500,000 miles each.
The Virginia Department of Transportation financed the study because the state helps pay for new buses for transit systems and provides an operating subsidy for them, he said.
"They are interested in the operating costs for buses," said Mancuso.
The issue of the operational cost for the small buses was raised earlier this week by Councilman James Harvey, who recently returned to council after a two-year absence.
Harvey was on council two years ago when the bus company bought five small buses, a move that had long been advocated by several council members.
Council members had complained for several years that some large buses run empty much of the day. They said the smaller buses would save money.
"It's kind of an affront to see the large buses running around the city with only two or three passengers on them," Harvey said when council decided to buy the small buses.
"The big buses have a tremendous negative psychological impact on the public," former Councilman Robert Garland said at that time. "The average taxpayer perceives this as waste."
Harvey said he has been off council since the buses were purchased, but he asked Mancuso if they have saved money for the bus company.
The small buses get better gas mileage, Mancuso said, but this is offset by higher costs for maintenance and other operational expenses.
Mancuso recommended originally that Valley Metro buy only large buses, saying they were needed to accommodate passenger loads during peak periods.
He said then he was aware that many people often ask why the bus company operates such big buses for only a few people. "The answer is that we don't," he said.
Like bus systems throughout the nation, he said, Valley Metro must run buses that can handle the maximum passenger load.
There are more than 100 times a day when Valley Metro buses are occupied at 50 percent to 100 percent capacity, he said.
The small buses generally last only 6 to 8 years, about half the 12-to-15 year life for large buses, Mancuso said. Maintenance costs for small buses are also higher, he said.
But council members insisted on buying five small buses and five large buses when it replaced 10 older buses two years ago.
The large buses cost $132,000 each. The smaller buses cost $98,000.
The smaller buses have been used on routes with lower ridership.
by CNB