EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVE FUELS FOR URBAN MASS TRANSIT BUSES. FINAL REPORT

This study, sponsored by the Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA), was performed for the Port Authority of Allegheny County, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The objective was to identify an alternative fuel to diesel fuel in transit buses. Charts are presented that depict a two-level evaluation process for identifying the most appropriate alternative fuel for transit. Six fuels were selected and described in detail, namely: ammonia, ethanol, hydrogen, methanol, natural gas, and propane. A very detailed method for tabulating the presumed 12-year life cycle cost for a bus using each of the six fuels was developed and explained in this report. Since none of the selected fuels can run in a diesel engine without modification, otto-cycle, dual-fueled diesel-cycle, and assisted-ignition diesel-cycle engine technologies were investigated as an important part of this study. The report states that the most efficient and versatile engine for the proposed fuels was an assisted-ignition diesel engine. The M.A.N. D 2566 FMUH is such an engine; it is capable of running on a variety of fuels. Methanol is currently being tested and demonstrated. This report includes a demonstration plan to test and evaluate the operation of methanol-fueled buses in northern (cold climates) cities. The report recommends that transit systems select an alternative fuel conversion approach with low initial cost and with the flexibility of converting back to the diesel fuel for a minimum cost and reconversion time; methanol is said to be the best within this context. This report provides a bibliography and appendices.

• Corporate Authors:

  Booz-Allen and Hamilton, Incorporated

  Transportation Consulting Division, 4330 East-West Highway
  Bethesda, MD  United States  20814

  Urban Mass Transportation Administration

  400 7th Street, SW
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Publication Date: 1983-9

Media Info

• Pagination: 115 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Alternate fuels; Buses; Cold weather; Diesel engines; Ethanol; Fuels; Life cycle analysis; Life cycle costing; Methanol; Propane
• Identifier Terms: Urban Mass Transportation Act
• Old TRIS Terms: Dual fueling; Propane fuel; Umta section 6
• Subject Areas: Energy; Finance; Highways; Public Transportation; Vehicles and Equipment; I96: Vehicle Operating Costs;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00380827
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: UMTA-PA-06-0060-83-1Final Rpt.
• Files: TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Jan 30 1984 12:00AM