The Whatcom Transportation Authority has hit pause on its transition to a zero-emission fleet.
Facing ongoing challenges with the cost and maintenance of electric and hybrid-electric vehicles, WTA plans to purchase diesel buses again to replace aging vehicles, at least temporarily.
“The operating environment is changing. The funding sources are changing. The number of bus manufacturers is shrinking. The grid still needs to be expanded to handle all these demands. This buys us decision space,” General Manager Les Reardanz said at a September WTA Board meeting.
The transit agency pledged to transition its bus fleet to zero-emission vehicles in 2022. Now, 40% of the WTA’s fleet is made up of low- or no-emission vehicles, with 12 electric buses and 15 hybrid buses.
But both types of buses have issues. Electric buses are limited to certain routes due to limitations in range and electricity availability. Hybrid buses, board members learned at a meeting in August, don’t offer a significant reduction in lifecycle carbon emissions, and are significantly more expensive to purchase and maintain.
WTA plans to replace six fixed-route vehicles in 2027, eight in 2028 and six in 2030.
One of the main drivers of the decision was cost. In August, transportation consulting firm Transpo Group presented data to the board showing that hybrid buses only offer a 10% reduction in carbon emissions but cost $8.5 million more than diesel buses over their lifetimes. The transit authority is facing significant budget challenges and has been looking for ways to reduce expenses.
Plus, the difference in fuel economy between WTA’s diesel and hybrid vehicles is small: 5.4 MPG for diesel and 6 MPG for hybrid. That’s due to the size of the buses and the constant stopping and starting required of a bus route, Transpo Group Senior Project Manager Paul Sharman said.
Another motivator was the comparative success of a renewable fuel WTA began using in April instead of diesel. R99, the renewable fuel, is made with typically soybean oil byproducts, Sharman told the WTA Board in August. It’s then crushed up and run through chemical processes and turned into something that functionally acts like diesel. When it’s burned, it emits carbon like diesel would.
“[But] instead of carbon that’s been in the ground for a millennium and then adding it back into our carbon cycle, it’s something that grew recently and pulled some carbon out of the air as part of its growing process,” Sharman said.
Transpo’s analysis found that using R99 creates an estimated 60% less lifecycle carbon emissions than diesel.
R99 costs about $3.72 per gallon, significantly more than the $2.82 a gallon the transit authority typically spends on diesel, but annually, it’s projected to reduce the WTA’s carbon emissions by 3,175 to 3,800 tons at a cost of about $375,000. (One ton of carbon is roughly equal to driving 5,000 miles in a gas-powered passenger vehicle.)
Challenges with electrification aren’t unique to WTA. Interim King County Executive Shannon Braddock recently proposed a delay to King County Metro’s electrification initiative.
The WTA is also investing in other decarbonization strategies, which include boosting service to dense areas; working with Whatcom Land Trust and Whatcom Million Trees Foundation to preserve local forested lands, with 53 acres purchased so far; partnering with Whatcom Council of Governments on the Smart Trips program to incentivize people to walk, bike and ride the bus; and more.
Charlotte Alden is CDN’s general assignment/enterprise reporter; reach her at charlottealden@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 123.
About the Author
