Guidebook for Evaluating Fuel Choices for Post-2010 Transit Bus Procurements (2011)

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

TRANSPORTAT ION RESEARCH BOARD WASHINGTON, D.C. 2011 www.TRB.org T R A N S I T C O O P E R A T I V E R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M TCRP REPORT 146 Research sponsored by the Federal Transit Administration in cooperation with the Transit Development Corporation Subscriber Categories Public Transportation • Energy • Vehicles and Equipment Guidebook for Evaluating Fuel Choices for Post-2010 Transit Bus Procurements SCIENCE APPLICATIONS INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION McLean, VA

TCRP REPORT 146 Project C-19 ISSN 1073-4872 ISBN 978-0-309-21325-7 Library of Congress Control Number 2011929842 © 2011 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. COPYRIGHT INFORMATION Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein. Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) grants permission to reproduce material in this publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes. Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be used to imply TRB, AASHTO, FAA, FHWA, FMCSA, FTA, or Transit Development Corporation endorsement of a particular product, method, or practice. It is expected that those reproducing the material in this document for educational and not-for-profit uses will give appropriate acknowledgment of the source of any reprinted or reproduced material. For other uses of the material, request permission from CRP. NOTICE The project that is the subject of this report was a part of the Transit Cooperative Research Program, conducted by the Transportation Research Board with the approval of the Governing Board of the National Research Council. The members of the technical panel selected to monitor this project and to review this report were chosen for their special competencies and with regard for appropriate balance. The report was reviewed by the technical panel and accepted for publication according to procedures established and overseen by the Transportation Research Board and approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council. The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied in this report are those of the researchers who performed the research and are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board, the National Research Council, or the program sponsors. The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, the National Research Council, and the sponsors of the Transit Cooperative Research Program do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of the report. TRANSIT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM The nation’s growth and the need to meet mobility, environmental, and energy objectives place demands on public transit systems. Current systems, some of which are old and in need of upgrading, must expand service area, increase service frequency, and improve efficiency to serve these demands. Research is necessary to solve operating problems, to adapt appropriate new technologies from other industries, and to intro- duce innovations into the transit industry. The Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) serves as one of the principal means by which the transit industry can develop innovative near-term solutions to meet demands placed on it. The need for TCRP was originally identified in TRB Special Report 213—Research for Public Transit: New Directions, published in 1987 and based on a study sponsored by the Urban Mass Transportation Administration—now the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). A report by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), Transportation 2000, also recognized the need for local, problem- solving research. TCRP, modeled after the longstanding and success- ful National Cooperative Highway Research Program, undertakes research and other technical activities in response to the needs of tran- sit service providers. The scope of TCRP includes a variety of transit research fields including planning, service configuration, equipment, facilities, operations, human resources, maintenance, policy, and administrative practices. TCRP was established under FTA sponsorship in July 1992. Pro- posed by the U.S. Department of Transportation, TCRP was autho- rized as part of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA). On May 13, 1992, a memorandum agreement out- lining TCRP operating procedures was executed by the three cooper- ating organizations: FTA the National Academies, acting through the Transportation Research Board (TRB); and the Transit Development Corporation, Inc. (TDC), a nonprofit educational and research orga- nization established by APTA. TDC is responsible for forming the independent governing board, designated as the TCRP Oversight and Project Selection (TOPS) Committee. Research problem statements for TCRP are solicited periodically but may be submitted to TRB by anyone at any time. It is the responsibility of the TOPS Committee to formulate the research program by identi- fying the highest priority projects. As part of the evaluation, the TOPS Committee defines funding levels and expected products. Once selected, each project is assigned to an expert panel, appointed by the Transportation Research Board. The panels prepare project state- ments (requests for proposals), select contractors, and provide techni- cal guidance and counsel throughout the life of the project. The process for developing research problem statements and selecting research agencies has been used by TRB in managing cooperative research pro- grams since 1962. As in other TRB activities, TCRP project panels serve voluntarily without compensation. Because research cannot have the desired impact if products fail to reach the intended audience, special emphasis is placed on dissemi- nating TCRP results to the intended end users of the research: tran- sit agencies, service providers, and suppliers. TRB provides a series of research reports, syntheses of transit practice, and other support- ing material developed by TCRP research. APTA will arrange for workshops, training aids, field visits, and other activities to ensure that results are implemented by urban and rural transit industry practitioners. The TCRP provides a forum where transit agencies can cooperatively address common operational problems. The TCRP results support and complement other ongoing transit research and training programs. Published reports of the TRANSIT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM are available from: Transportation Research Board Business Office 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 and can be ordered through the Internet at http://www.national-academies.org/trb/bookstore Printed in the United States of America

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. On the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Charles M. Vest is president of the National Academy of Engineering. The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, on its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine. The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Charles M. Vest are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council. The Transportation Research Board is one of six major divisions of the National Research Council. The mission of the Transporta- tion Research Board is to provide leadership in transportation innovation and progress through research and information exchange, conducted within a setting that is objective, interdisciplinary, and multimodal. The Board’s varied activities annually engage about 7,000 engineers, scientists, and other transportation researchers and practitioners from the public and private sectors and academia, all of whom contribute their expertise in the public interest. The program is supported by state transportation departments, federal agencies including the component administrations of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and other organizations and individu- als interested in the development of transportation. www.TRB.org www.national-academies.org

CRP STAFF FOR TCRP REPORT 146 Christopher W. Jenks, Director, Cooperative Research Programs Crawford F. Jencks, Deputy Director, Cooperative Research Programs S. A. Parker, Senior Program Officer Tiana Barnes, Senior Program Assistant Eileen P. Delaney, Director of Publications Maria Sabin Crawford, Assistant Editor TCRP PROJECT C-19 PANEL Field of Engineering of Vehicles and Equipment James D. Pachan, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Los Angeles, CA (Chair) John Bradley, Automotive Manufacturers Equipment Compliance Agency, Ovid, NY Van Chesnut, Advance Transit, Inc., Wilder, VT Woodrow W. “Woody” Clark, II, Clark Strategic Partners, Beverly Hills, CA Gordon M. Exel, Cummins Westport, Vancouver, BC John H. Overman, Texas A&M University, Arlington, TX Jack Requa, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, Washington, DC Darryl Spencer, Dallas Area Rapid Transit, Dallas, TX Ted Williams, American Gas Association, Washington, DC Christina Gikakis, FTA Liaison Jeff Hiott, APTA Liaison Quon Kwan, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Liaison Dennis A. Smith, US Department of Energy Liaison Kimberly Fisher, TRB Liaison Jennifer A. Rosales, TRB Liaison C O O P E R A T I V E R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M S AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project represents a collective effort. SAIC would like to thank the TCRP Project C-19 panel for their diligence and contributions to the content of this project. Delma Bratvold was the SAIC project manager. New West Technologies, LLC, provided initial content for many of the fuel-specific chapters in this report, which were built upon, updated, and edited by SAIC staff including Kateri Young and Maxwell Cohen with contributions by David Friedman. Layout design is by Margaret Scott. The accom- panying lifecycle cost model (FuelCost2) includes programming contributions from Robert Laramey and Connor Hackett of SAIC.

TCRP Report 146: Guidebook for Evaluating Fuel Choices for Post-2010 Transit Bus Pro- curements and its accompanying life-cycle costs and life-cycle emissions model spreadsheet (FuelCost2) will be of interest to transit managers, policymakers, operations and mainte- nance professionals, and others considering the deployment of, or conversion to, alterna- tive fuel buses. The guidebook and FuelCost2 are intended for individuals who, while being quite knowledgeable about the transit industry, may not be familiar with alternative fuels and implementation issues. The guidebook and FuelCost2 provide tools to simplify the process of developing an alternative fuel strategy by clearly identifying the issues, and the costs and benefits associated with the conversion to various available alternative fuel tech- nologies. This report updates, expands on, and replaces TCRP Report 38: Guidebook for Evaluating, Selecting, and Implementing Fuel Choices for Transit Bus Operations. There are many factors that may affect fuel choice decisions. Particularly for public transit agencies that receive essential funding from the local government, local policies can over-ride all life-cycle economic or emissions analyses. Life-cycle cost analyses can provide easy-to- understand comparisons to help decision makers see the overall costs of different policies. This guidebook begins with an overview of how to choose a transit bus fuel, followed by 13 chapters, each addressing one particular fuel or powertrain type. In each fuel or power- train chapter, readers will find a fuel description; fuel usage; safety and training; technology and performance; maintenance, reliability, and storage; emissions; and cost and availabil- ity. A summary table of pros and cons concludes each chapter. Each chapter can be read on its own as a stand-alone document, allowing users to concentrate on chapters that focus on their primary interests. The data provided in each fuel-specific chapter provides the basis for default values used in the FuelCost2 lifecycle spreadsheet. FuelCost2 has been developed to assist transit operators in assessing their bus fuel choices. A number of workshops were held in conjunction with CTAA and APTA to field test draft versions of FuelCost2, which provides life-cycle costs and life-cycle emissions of various bus fuel and powertrain options. The components of this report available at http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/165390.aspx include the following: • The FuelCost2 life-cycle costs and life-cycle emissions spreadsheet; • The guidebook, which provides introductory information on the fuel and powertrain choices in FuelCost2; • A user’s guide in the form of slides that provide more detailed instructions on FuelCost2 use and tips for adapting FuelCost2 for other applications (e.g., small buses and vans); and • A 2-page set of instructions for using FuelCost2. F O R E W O R D By S. A. Parker Staff Officer Transportation Research Board

C O N T E N T S 1-1 Chapter 1 Introduction 1-1 1.1 Drivers of Fuel Change 1-2 1.2 Lifecycle Analyses and Policy Decisions 1-2 1.3 Guide Use 2-1 Chapter 2 Choosing a Fuel 2-1 2.1 Developing a Short List 2-5 2.2 FuelCost2: Basic Input and Output 2-8 2.3 FuelCost2: Detailed Input and Data Considerations 2-9 2.4 Accounting for Risks 3-1 Chapter 3 Diesel 3-1 3.1 Fuel Description 3-4 3.2 Fuel Usage 3-5 3.3 Safety, Training, and Disposal 3-6 3.4 Technology and Performance 3-8 3.5 Maintenance, Reliability, and Storage 3-9 3.6 Emissions 3-10 3.7 Cost and Availability 3-12 3.8 Summary 4-1 Chapter 4 Biodiesel 4-2 4.1 Fuel Description 4-4 4.2 Fuel Usage 4-5 4.3 Safety, Training, and Disposal 4-6 4.4 Technology and Performance 4-7 4.5 Maintenance, Reliability, and Storage 4-9 4.6 Emissions 4-12 4.7 Cost and Availability 4-14 4.8 Summary 5-1 Chapter 5 Gasoline 5-1 5.1 Fuel Description 5-4 5.2 Fuel Usage 5-4 5.3 Safety, Training, and Disposal 5-6 5.4 Technology and Performance 5-7 5.5 Maintenance, Reliability, and Storage 5-8 5.6 Emissions 5-10 5.7 Cost and Availability 5-12 5.8 Summary 6-1 Chapter 6 Ethanol 6-2 6.1 Fuel Description 6-4 6.2 Fuel Usage

6-6 6.3 Safety, Training, and Disposal 6-8 6.4 Technology and Performance 6-8 6.5 Maintenance, Reliability, and Storage 6-10 6.6 Emissions 6-12 6.7 Cost and Availability 6-15 6.8 Summary 7-1 Chapter 7 Compressed Natural Gas 7-1 7.1 Fuel Description 7-3 7.2 Fuel Usage 7-4 7.3 Safety, Training, and Disposal 7-7 7.4 Technology and Performance 7-12 7.5 Maintenance, Reliability, and Storage 7-13 7.6 Emissions 7-16 7.7 Cost and Availability 7-19 7.8 Summary 8-1 Chapter 8 Liquefied Natural Gas 8-1 8.1 Fuel Description 8-3 8.2 Fuel Usage 8-3 8.3 Safety, Training, and Disposal 8-6 8.4 Technology and Performance 8-9 8.5 Maintenance, Reliability, and Storage 8-10 8.6 Emissions 8-13 8.7 Cost and Availability 8-15 8.8 Summary 9-1 Chapter 9 Hydrogen—Internal Combustion Engine 9-2 9.1 Fuel Description 9-3 9.2 Fuel Usage 9-3 9.3 Safety, Training, and Disposal 9-5 9.4 Technology and Performance 9-7 9.5 Maintenance, Reliability, and Storage 9-8 9.6 Emissions 9-11 9.7 Cost and Availability 9-12 9.8 Summary 10-1 Chapter 10 Propane 10-2 10.1 Fuel Description 10-3 10.2 Fuel Usage 10-4 10.3 Safety, Training, and Disposal 10-5 10.4 Technology and Performance 10-7 10.5 Maintenance, Reliability, and Storage 10-8 10.6 Emissions 10-9 10.7 Cost and Availability 10-11 10.8 Summary 11-1 Chapter 11 Dimethyl Ether 11-1 11.1 Fuel Description 11-2 11.2 Fuel Usage 11-4 11.3 Safety, Training, and Disposal 11-5 11.4 Technology and Performance

11-6 11.5 Maintenance, Reliability, and Storage 11-7 11.6 Emissions 11-8 11.7 Cost and Availability 11-10 11.8 Summary 12-1 Chapter 12 Electric—Trolleybus 12-1 12.1 Fuel Description 12-2 12.2 Fuel Usage 12-3 12.3 Safety, Training, and Disposal 12-4 12.4 Technology and Performance 12-5 12.5 Maintenance, Reliability, and Storage 12-6 12.6 Emissions 12-8 12.7 Cost and Availability 12-10 12.8 Summary 13-1 Chapter 13 Electric—Battery 13-2 13.1 Fuel Description 13-4 13.2 Fuel Usage 13-5 13.3 Safety, Training, and Disposal 13-6 13.4 Technology and Performance 13-8 13.5 Maintenance, Reliability, and Storage 13-9 13.6 Emissions 13-10 13.7 Cost and Availability 13-12 13.8 Summary 14-1 Chapter 14 Electric—Hybrid 14-2 14.1 Fuel Description 14-3 14.2 Fuel Usage 14-5 14.3 Safety, Training, and Disposal 14-6 14.4 Technology and Performance 14-10 14.5 Maintenance, Reliability, and Storage 14-12 14.6 Emissions 14-14 14.7 Cost and Availability 14-16 14.8 Summary 15-1 Chapter 15 Electric—Fuel Cell 15-1 15.1 Fuel Description 15-4 15.2 Fuel Usage 15-5 15.3 Safety, Training, and Disposal 15-6 15.4 Technology and Performance 15-9 15.5 Maintenance, Reliability, and Storage 15-11 15.6 Emissions 15-13 15.7 Cost and Availability 15-14 15.8 Summary A-1 Appendix A Fuel Properties and Cost Table B-1 Appendix B Conversion of Tailpipe Emissions Units C-1 Appendix C FuelCost2 User’s Guide Note: Many of the photographs, figures, and tables in this report have been converted from color to grayscale for printing. The electronic version of the report (posted on the Web at www.trb.org) retains the color versions.