
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, July 30, 1990                   TAG: 9007300144
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A/8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Joel Turner
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

OPERATING COSTS SAME FOR SMALL, LARGE BUSES

Valley Metro's small buses are no cheaper to operate than the big buses - even if the big ones seem almost empty sometimes.

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.

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.

The issue of the operational cost for the small buses was raised last week by Councilman James Harvey, who was on council two years ago when the bus company bought five small buses.

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.

The small buses generally last only six to eight years, about half the 12- to 15-year life for large buses, Mancuso said.

The large buses cost $132,000 each. The smaller buses cost $98,000.

by CNB