National Renewable Energy Laboratory 

Innovation for Our Energy Future 

A national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy

Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy

NREL is operated by Midwest Research Institute ● Battelle Contract No. DE-AC36-99-GO10337 

Ten Years of Compressed 

Natural Gas (CNG) Operations 

at SunLine Transit Agency 

April 2003 — December 2004 

K. Chandler 

Battelle 

Columbus, Ohio 

Subcontract Report 

NREL/SR-540-39180 

January 2006 
Ten Years of Compressed 

Natural Gas (CNG) Operations 

at SunLine Transit Agency 

April 2003 — December 2004 

K. Chandler 

Battelle 

Columbus, Ohio 

NREL Technical Monitor: Richard Parish 

Prepared under Subcontract No(s). KXAF-9-29764-19 

Subcontract Report 

NREL/SR-540-39180 

January 2006 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory 

1617 Cole Boulevard, Golden, Colorado 80401-3393 

303-275-3000 • www.nrel.gov 

Operated for the U.S. Department of Energy 

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy 

by Midwest Research Institute • Battelle 

Contract No. DE-AC36-99-GO10337
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Acknowledgments 

This evaluation of the SunLine Transit Agency would not have been possible without the support 

and cooperation of many people. 

U.S. Department of Energy 

Dennis Smith 

SunLine Transit Agency 

Mike Oglesby 

Tommy Edwards 

Polo Del Toro 

Karen Thomas 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory 

Richard Parish 

Leslie Eudy 

Mike Frailey 

iii
Table of Contents

Acknowledgments..........................................................................................................................iii 

Table of Contents........................................................................................................................... iv 

List of Tables.................................................................................................................................. v 

List of Figures................................................................................................................................. v 

List of Acronyms and Abbreviations............................................................................................. vi 

Executive Summary...................................................................................................................... vii 

Introduction..................................................................................................................................... 1 

SunLine Transit Agency Converts to Exclusive Use of CNG........................................................ 2 

Converting the Entire SunLine Fleet to CNG............................................................................. 2 

Start-Up of CNG Operations (April-May 1994)......................................................................... 4 

SunLine’s CNG Bus Fleet .............................................................................................................. 6 

SunLine’s Fueling Infrastructure .................................................................................................... 9 

Addition of Other Fuels............................................................................................................ 12 

Experience at the SunLine Fueling Stations............................................................................. 12 

Maintenance Facilities Upgrades and Experience ........................................................................ 13 

SunLine CNG Bus Operational Experience ................................................................................. 15 

Current SunLine Revenue Service............................................................................................ 15 

Vehicle Usage ........................................................................................................................... 16 

Fuel Economy and Cost............................................................................................................ 17 

Maintenance Costs.................................................................................................................... 18 

Roadcalls................................................................................................................................... 22 

Total Fuel and Maintenance Cost-per-Mile.............................................................................. 23 

Other Projects at SunLine ............................................................................................................. 24 

Future Bus Operations at SunLine................................................................................................ 26 

References..................................................................................................................................... 28 

Appendix A: List of Buses............................................................................................................ 29 

Appendix B: Summary Data by Bus Group ................................................................................. 31 

Appendix C: SunLine Fleet Fuel and Maintenance Costs............................................................ 34 

iv
List of Tables

Table ES-1. CNG Buses at SunLine............................................................................................viii 

Table ES-2. Summary of Evaluation Results (FY00-FY04) ......................................................... ix 

Table 1. CNG Buses at SunLine..................................................................................................... 6 

Table 2. Engine Changes to SunLine CNG Buses.......................................................................... 7 

Table 3. Total Miles, Hours of Operation, and Average Speed by Fiscal Year ........................... 16 

Table 4. Average Annual Miles by Bus Group............................................................................. 17 

Table 5. Average Miles per Gasoline Gallon Equivalent and Fuel Cost-per-Mile....................... 17 

Table 6. CNG Consumption and Cost at SunLine Fueling Stations............................................. 18 

Table 7. Total Maintenance Cost by Bus Study Group (FY 2000-FY 2004)............................... 20 

Table 8. Engine Rebuilds for Orion V Buses with Cummins L10-240G Engines....................... 22 

Table 9. Total Roadcalls by Bus Study Group (FY 2000 - FY 2004).......................................... 23 

Table 10. Summary of Fuel and Maintenance Cost-per-Mile ...................................................... 23 

List of Figures 

Figure 1. SunLine introduces CNG transit buses to the Coachella Valley in 1994........................ 1 

Figure 2. SunLine operating area in the Coachella Valley, California, Area ................................. 3 

Figure 3. SunLine CNG buses........................................................................................................ 6 

Figure 4. Public fueling at SunLine’s Thousand Palms CNG fueling station ................................ 9 

Figure 5. CNG fueling lane and bus wash (Thousand Palms)........................................................ 9 

Figure 6. CNG compressor station (Thousand Palms) ................................................................. 10 

Figure 7. SunLine Clean Air Center in Indio, California ............................................................. 11 

Figure 8. CNG fueling equipment (Indio) .................................................................................... 11 

Figure 9. Maintenance facility in Thousand Palms ...................................................................... 13 

Figure 10. Average fuel economy (MPGGE) by fiscal year for each bus group.......................... 18 

Figure 11. Fuel cell buses tested in operation at SunLine ............................................................ 24 

Figure 12. Hydrogen hybrid internal combustion engine bus....................................................... 26 

Figure 13. SunLine ISE/Van Hool/UTC fuel cell bus.................................................................. 27 

v
List of Acronyms and Abbreviations 

ASME American Society of Mechanical Engineers 

CARB California Air Resources Board 

CNG compressed natural gas 

DDC Detroit Diesel Corporation 

DOE U.S. Department of Energy 

FTA Federal Transit Administration 

FY fiscal year 

GGE gasoline gallon equivalent 

HHICE hydrogen hybrid internal combustion engine 

hp horsepower 

LACMTA Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority 

LFL lower flammability limit 

LNG liquefied natural gas 

MPGGE miles per gasoline gallon equivalent 

NGVTF Natural Gas Vehicle Technology Forum 

NREL National Renewable Energy Laboratory 

psi pounds per square inch 

RC roadcalls 

SAE Society of Automotive Engineers 

SCAQMD South Coast Air Quality Management District 

SoCAL Gas Southern California Gas Company 

vi
Executive Summary

This report has been produced as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Natural Gas 

Vehicle Technology Forum (NGVTF) activity, which strives to advance gaseous fuel vehicle 

technology and fueling infrastructure (natural gas, hydrogen, and hydrogen-natural gas blends) to 

displace the use of imported petroleum in the U.S. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory 

leads the NGVTF for DOE’s FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies Program. 

The report focuses on the SunLine Transit Agency, which started operation of compressed 

natural gas (CNG) transit buses in 1994 by converting its entire operating fleet to CNG, 

essentially overnight. Now, more than 10 years later, SunLine is still committed to CNG transit 

bus operations as well as testing other future technologies. The main objective of this report is to 

capture some of the lessons learned and experiences gained at SunLine from its last 10 years of 

CNG vehicle operations. 

SunLine (website at www.sunline.org) started transit operations in 1977 with 22 vehicles. Its 

transit bus operations are located in the Palm Springs, California area and include much of the 

Coachella Valley (a service area reported as greater than 1,100 square miles). SunLine currently 

operates over 2 million miles per year at an average operational speed of around 15 miles per 

hour. 

In 1991, SunLine discussed the possibility and then planned to convert its transit buses from 

diesel to CNG in order to distinguish the small transit agency as a leader for reduced emissions 

in heavy-duty vehicles. As part of these discussions, SunLine decided to maximize the impact 

by converting the entire fleet of buses and support vehicles to operate only on CNG as soon as 

possible. In 1991, there were only approximately 25 heavy CNG buses placed into service in the 

United States and another 70 heavy CNG buses on order. Therefore, SunLine’s decision was 

risky, especially since it was made at a very early stage in CNG bus development and 

deployment in the United States. 

The SunLine Board of Directors approved the 100% alternative fuels approach in 1992. The 

greatest challenge at that time with implementing full CNG operations was that it had not yet 

been accomplished in the United States. In order to undertake this difficult task, several 

activities needed to be planned and executed at the same time including: 

• Collecting a group of experts and knowledge contributors 

• Ordering new CNG buses 

• Constructing permanent CNG fueling on-site 

• Completing appropriate training for staff and mechanics 

• Developing a public relations strategy 

• Preparing for implementation. 

In 1993, a new CNG fueling station was constructed, and new CNG buses were ordered (with the 

help and cooperation of Sacramento Regional Transit). Natural gas vehicle training programs 

were developed at the College of the Desert’s Energy Technology Training Center, and the 

SunLine mechanics were the first “graduates” of that training. All SunLine employees received 

vii
some natural gas vehicle safety familiarization training. The nation’s first fleet to change to 

100% CNG bus operations occurred in May 1994. 

The current SunLine bus fleet includes 41 full size transit buses, five mid-size transit buses, and 

23 paratransit vehicles. Additional support vehicles include 35 light- and medium-duty vehicles. 

All of these SunLine vehicles operate on CNG, and a few operate on CNG mixed with hydrogen. 

The analysis presented in this report focuses on the full-size and mid-size transit buses operating 

at SunLine (46 CNG buses in the active fleet) as shown in Table ES-1. 

Table ES-1. CNG Buses at SunLine 

Bus Number 

of Buses 

Model 

Year Length Engine Purchase 

Price 

Orion V 34* 1994 40 foot Cummins L10-240G $225,000 

ElDorado National 5 1994 29 foot Hercules 5.6L $120,000 

Thomas MVP 7 1995 40 foot Cummins B5.9G $85,000 

* Two of these buses now have Cummins C8.3G engines and one has a Deere 6081H engine. All three of these 

buses have prototype engines that have been used for testing. 

When the CNG buses arrived and began service, normal break-in problems occurred. Some 

mechanics were eager to work on the new bus equipment and a few were concerned about safety. 

Over time, the major concern was loose fittings left by the less experienced mechanics. Learning 

how to troubleshoot these new buses was a challenge and was supported in a timely manner by 

Cummins Cal Pacific. The SunLine staff reported that the transition to CNG bus operations 

would have been much more difficult without Cummins’ support. 

Additional information regarding the first three years of operation (1994-1996) at SunLine and 

Sacramento Regional Transit was also documented in a report published in 1999 by the Society 

of Automotive Engineers (SAE)1. The mid-term experience (1997-1999) at SunLine was 

investigated in discussions with SunLine personnel. The mechanics and operators had become 

comfortable with the CNG buses and infrastructure by the mid-term. As new mechanics were 

added to the staff, familiarization training was provided both at the College of the Desert and 

through on-the-job training at SunLine. 

This report focuses on an evaluation of the last five years of operation costs for the 46 CNG 

buses [fiscal year (FY) 2000 through FY 2004). Table ES-2 provides summary results for the 

CNG buses at SunLine. 

 

1

 SAE Paper 1999-01-3738, 1999, “A Three-Year Comparison of Natural Gas and Diesel Transit Buses.” 

viii
Table ES-2. Summary of Evaluation Results (FY00-FY04) 

Category 

Orion / 

Cummins 

L10-240G 

Orion / 

Cummins 

C8.3G* 

Orion / 

Deere 

6081H*

Thomas / 

Cummins 

B5.9G 

ElDorado / 

Cummins 

B5.9G 

ElDorado / 

Hercules Total Fleet

Number of 

Vehicles 31 2 1 7 4 1 46

Total 

Mileage 8,780,704 44,906 116,509 463,571 574,439 87,569 10,464,698

Avg. Annual 

Miles/Bus 56,650 44,191 23,302 13,245 28,722 21,892 --

Fuel 

Economy 

(MPGGE) 

3.0 2.8 2.8 3.6 5.1 5.0 3.1

Fuel Cost 

($)/Mile 0.35 0.38 0.40 0.29 0.21 0.20 0.34

Maint. Cost 

($)/Mile 0.35 0.48 0.75 0.47 0.30 0.40 0.36

Total Cost 

($)/Mile 0.70 0.86 1.16 0.73 0.51 0.61 0.70

Miles 

Between RCs 13,164 5,739 4,855 4,829 9,904 3,020 11,004

* These buses had engines being rigorously tested by the manufacturer and SunLine, and the maintenance results do 

not reflect their commercial engine product performance. 

How Did SunLine Become Successful with CNG Bus Operations? – SunLine showed 

pioneering leadership at a very early stage of natural gas vehicle development by converting its 

entire fleet. SunLine has been operating some of the least sophisticated CNG buses in the transit 

industry and has become very successful through persistent dedication and extensive training of 

maintenance personnel. 

Other Projects – SunLine is a small transit agency with limited resources. SunLine, along with 

multiple partners, has entered into many projects over the past 10 years that have been associated 

with transit, natural gas, hydrogen, fuel cells, and combinations of these topics. The objectives 

have been to advance clean transit bus propulsion systems and to leverage project funding to 

afford SunLine additional and new buses and infrastructure. 

Some of the recent projects at SunLine have involved the use of hydrogen. The SunLine 

hydrogen fueling capability has been used to demonstrate a fuel cell bus using a Ballard fuel cell 

in 2001 and later with the ThunderPower fuel cell bus with a UTC fuel cell in 2002-2003. 

SunLine has also been testing buses operating on a mixture of natural gas and hydrogen. The 

objective of mixing hydrogen into natural gas as a vehicle fuel is to significantly reduce oxides 

of nitrogen emissions from vehicles and to demonstrate a credible path to hydrogen as a 

transportation fuel. 

What’s Next? – SunLine feels the future of CNG bus operations is bright. Current plans include 

the imminent delivery of 15 new Orion V CNG buses with Cummins L Gas Plus engines 

(purchased on an existing order from Fresno Area Express transit agency) in early 2006. 

SunLine plans to replace the entire heavy CNG bus fleet by 2009. The newest bus in service at 

ix
SunLine is their hydrogen hybrid internal combustion engine from ISE Research and New Flyer. 

In November 2005, SunLine also received from ISE Research a new hybrid fuel cell bus with a 

Van Hool bus chassis using the Siemens hybrid electric propulsion system and a UTC fuel cell 

power plant. 

x
Introduction 

This report has been produced as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Natural Gas 

Vehicle Technology Forum (NGVTF) activity, which strives to advance gaseous fuel vehicle 

technology and fueling infrastructure (natural gas, hydrogen, and hydrogen-natural gas blends) to 

displace the use of imported petroleum in the U.S. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory 

leads the NGVTF for DOE’s FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies Program. 

This NGVTF report focuses on the SunLine Transit Agency, which started operation of 

compressed natural gas (CNG) transit buses in 1994 by converting its entire operating fleet 

essentially overnight (Figure 1). Now, more than 10 years later, SunLine is still committed to 

CNG transit bus operations as well as testing other future vehicle technologies. This report takes 

a look back at the decisions that led SunLine to a complete changeover to CNG operation and 

how full implementation of CNG bus operations has fared. There also is an emphasis on the last 

five years of operations to investigate how these early CNG technology vehicles were 

maintained up to nearly retirement age. 

The main objective of this report is to capture some of the lessons learned and experiences 

gained at SunLine from its 10 years of operating only CNG-fueled vehicles. Some reports and 

papers have boasted extremely positive experiences at SunLine, while at the same time, some 

other transit agencies have reported disappointing results with CNG buses. During this same 

period, a number of transit agencies have experimented with CNG fuel and buses, but moved on 

to other technologies or back to standard diesel vehicles when they were confronted with 

growing pains or early operating challenges. SunLine has continued to use early natural gas 

vehicle and infrastructure technology, and has reported extremely positive results as 

demonstrated in this report. 

Photo courtesy of SunLine Transit Agency 

Figure 1. SunLine introduces CNG transit buses to the Coachella Valley in 1994

1
SunLine Transit Agency Converts to Exclusive Use of CNG

SunLine (website at www.sunline.org) started transit operations in 1977 with 22 vehicles. 

SunLine transit bus operations are located in the Palm Springs, California area (Figure 2) and 

include much of the Coachella Valley (a service area reported as greater than 1,100 square miles). 

SunLine is physically headquartered in Thousand Palms, California, and has nine member cities 

as well as one county (Riverside). Each of the following member cities and county has an 

appointed member on the SunLine board: 

• Desert Hot Springs 

• Palm Springs 

• Cathedral City 

• Rancho Mirage 

• Palm Desert 

• Indian Wells 

• La Quinta 

• Indio 

• Coachella 

• Riverside County. 

The current SunLine bus fleet includes 41 full-size transit buses (40-foot), five mid-size transit 

buses (29-foot), and 23 paratransit vehicles. Additional support vehicles include 35 light- and 

medium-duty vehicles. All of these SunLine vehicles operate on CNG, and a few operate on 

CNG mixed with hydrogen. The analysis presented in this report is focused on the full-size and 

mid-size transit buses operating at SunLine (46 CNG buses in the active fleet). 

Converting the Entire SunLine Fleet to CNG

The State of California has some specific and severe air quality challenges identified especially 

in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Coachella Valley, including Palm Springs, is located 

in Riverside County, which is one of the four counties included in the Los Angeles metropolitan 

area. In the 1970s, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources 

Board (CARB) were considering and implementing serious emissions reductions especially for 

mobile sources (cars and trucks). 

Starting in the late 1980s and early 1990s, CARB began to strongly encourage alternative fuels 

for vehicles to help with needed emissions reductions. The South Coast Air Quality 

Management District (SCAQMD) is the local government entity with jurisdiction on air quality 

issues in the Los Angeles metropolitan area including Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San 

Bernardino counties. SCAQMD put in place several incentive programs for conversion of 

vehicles in the district to alternative fuels. One of the focuses of these incentive programs was 

on transit buses because of the large emissions impact in urban areas. 

2
Figure 2. SunLine operating area in the Coachella Valley, California, Area 

In 1991, SunLine changed general managers and was looking for a defining position on clean 

bus operations. Discussions and plans were made regarding a change of the transit buses to 

CNG. As part of these discussions, SunLine decided to maximize the impact by converting the 

entire fleet of buses and support vehicles to operate on CNG as soon as possible. This decision 

was based on economics and a desire for public recognition of the use of “clean fuels.” 

This decision at SunLine was made at a very early stage in CNG bus development and 

deployment in the United States. In 1991 there were only approximately 25 heavy CNG buses 

just placed into service in the United States and another 70 heavy CNG buses on order. 

The SunLine Board of Directors approved the 100% alternative fuels approach in 1992. SunLine 

was active the following year preparing for CNG bus operations. A new CNG fueling station 

was constructed with the support of the Southern California Gas Company (SoCal Gas). 

SunLine worked with Sacramento Regional Transit (who was also ordering a significant fleet of 

new CNG buses) to specify and order the new CNG buses from Orion Bus Industries (34, 40-

foot transit buses) and ElDorado National (five, 29-foot buses). Natural gas vehicle training 

3
programs were developed at the College of the Desert’s Energy Technology Training Center, and 

the SunLine mechanics were the first “graduates” of that training. All SunLine employees 

received some natural gas vehicle safety familiarization training. The nation’s first fleet to 

change to 100% CNG bus operations occurred in May 1994. 

Start-Up of CNG Operations (April-May 1994)

The greatest challenge in 1993 with implementing full CNG operations was that it had not yet 

been accomplished in the Coachella Valley or anywhere else in the United States In order to 

achieve this difficult task, several activities needed to be planned and executed at the same time 

including: 

• Collecting a group of experts and knowledge contributors 

• Ordering new CNG buses 

• Constructing permanent CNG fueling on-site 

• Completing appropriate training for staff and mechanics 

• Developing a public relations strategy 

• Preparing for implementation. 

SunLine did not execute the implementation of CNG operations single-handedly. Some of the 

major participants in this implementation included: 

• Sacramento Regional Transit (http://www.sacrt.com/) 

• SoCal Gas (http://www.socalgas.com/) 

• College of the Desert (http://www.collegeofthedesert.edu/) 

• Cummins Engine Company (http://www.cummins.com/) 

• Cummins Cal Pacific (http://www.calpacific.cummins.com/) 

• Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority (LACMTA - 

http://www.mta.net/default.asp) 

• Orion Bus Industries (http://www.orionbus.com/orion) 

• ElDorado National (http://www.thorindustries.com/bus/). 

LACMTA was already working with Cummins Engine Company to develop and implement 

heavy-duty natural gas engines and assisted SunLine with specifying and purchasing CNG buses. 

The CNG fueling station at the SunLine facility in Thousand Palms was originally owned and 

operated by SoCal Gas, and SunLine owned 25% of the station. This later changed to a coownership with Clean Energy (75%) and SunLine (25%) when the gas utilities were required to 

divest themselves of the vehicle fueling stations. Currently, Clean Energy operates and 

maintains the CNG fueling station equipment at SunLine. 

The training aspects of CNG vehicle operations were in their infancy when SunLine decided to 

convert to CNG operations. Working with several partners, including College of the Desert and 

Cummins, SunLine helped develop a training curriculum at the College of the Desert. All 

SunLine employees received natural gas familiarity and safety training. The mechanics received 

more intensive training, so they could maintain the heavy- and light-duty vehicles operating on 

4
CNG at SunLine. Training information covered topics such as properties of natural gas and 

CNG, high pressure safety, fittings, and computer/electronic controls and sensors/calibration for 

the engines. Refresher training is also provided as time and resources allow. All new employees 

receive this familiarity and safety training for natural gas vehicles. The College of the Desert 

continues to provide this natural gas vehicle training for the region. 

Public relations and acceptance of the “new” natural gas transit buses were important aspects of 

the SunLine CNG operations. SunLine was careful to include the public in its plans for 

implementing CNG buses. There were press releases and events at the SunLine facility in 

Thousand Palms. Local newspapers and television produced and continue to produce stories on 

the SunLine operation. Signage about clean fuels and CNG are on the buses and SunLine has 

continued outreach to the public including some marketing focused on children in the schools 

and future riders. 

SunLine mechanics along with the local Cummins dealer mechanics (Cummins Cal Pacific) 

prepared for the implementation and support of operations. This solid relationship between 

SunLine and Cummins Cal Pacific continues to remain strong to this day and is considered to be 

one of the major reasons for success with CNG operations at SunLine. Several other groups, 

both local and national, were also key in supporting SunLine’s efforts over the last 10 years 

including DOE, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), SCAQMD, CARB, a number of other 

transit agencies operating CNG buses, and the cities in the Coachella Valley. 

When the CNG buses arrived and began service, normal break-in problems occurred. Some 

mechanics were eager to work on the new bus equipment, and a few were concerned about safety. 

Over time, the most common concern was loose fittings left by the less experienced mechanics. 

Troubleshooting was supported in a timely manner by Cummins Cal Pacific. The dealer staff 

was motivated, gathered information, and provided specifications and information when needed. 

The SunLine staff reported that the transition to CNG bus operations would have been much 

more difficult without their support. 

5
SunLine’s CNG Bus Fleet

The CNG buses at SunLine are summarized in Table 1 and shown in Figure 3. The original 

CNG bus fleet was purchased new from Orion Bus Industries and ElDorado National in 1993, 

and delivered in 1994. One of SunLine’s older diesel buses was re-powered with a Detroit 

Diesel Series 50G engine for testing in revenue service. Later in 1999, seven previously owned 

Thomas MVP model buses were purchased and placed into transit service. 

Table 1. CNG Buses at SunLine 

Bus Number 

of Buses 

Model 

Year Length Engine Purchase Price 

Orion V 34 1994 40 foot Cummins L10-240G $225,000 

ElDorado National 5 1994 29 foot Hercules 5.6L $120,000 

Thomas MVP 7 1995 40 foot Cummins B5.9G $85,000 

Gillig 1 1985 40 foot Detroit Diesel S50G N/A 

Figure 3. SunLine CNG buses (top left – El Dorado; top right – Orion; bottom – Thomas) 

SunLine has participated in several demonstrations and testing of emerging natural gas 

technologies. This testing has provided new equipment at SunLine and allowed for high 

temperature environment testing for natural gas vehicle technologies. The demonstrations and 

testing activities have caused many changes over the years for SunLine’s 47 CNG buses as 

summarized in Table 2. 

6
Table 2. Engine Changes to SunLine CNG Buses

Timeframe Bus Fleet Change 

1997 Orion V 

Two buses had L10-240G engines replaced by Cummins C8.3G; in 

mid-2002, one of these two buses had the C engine re-powered with 

the C Gas Plus version; the two L10-240G engines were placed into 

inventory for the remaining 32 Orion buses. 

1999 ElDorado 

Four of the five buses had the Hercules engines replaced by Cummins 

B5.9G engines; two of those B engines had the 195 hp settings and 

two had the 230 hp settings; the remaining ElDorado bus had the 

Hercules engine in it until the vehicle was retired in 2004. 

2000 Orion V 

One bus had the Cummins L10-240G engine replaced by a John Deere 

6081H engine in 2000 for testing; that engine was damaged during 

testing and was re-powered again in 2002 and testing continued. 

2000 Gillig 

The one Gillig bus with the DDC S50G engine was retired from 

SunLine operations and became a mobile library vehicle; this bus was 

only operating in FY2000 and has not been included in the summary 

operations analysis presented later in this report. 

2003 Thomas 

Four of the Thomas buses had the Cummins B5.9G engines rebuilt in 

chassis to the “Plus” engine package; two of those buses were 

prepared to operate on a mixture of hydrogen and CNG and were 

tested. 

Each of the natural gas engine technologies used at SunLine is described below: 

• Hercules 5.6L – In 1993 (delivery in 1994), SunLine received ElDorado National 29-

foot buses equipped with the Hercules 5.6L natural gas engine. There were several 

chronic issues with this engine that made it unreliable (problems with valves, burning 

engine oil, cylinders, and pistons) in many locations that operated the engine. SunLine 

had problems with four of the five vehicles with this engine. Those four engines were 

replaced in 1999, and the fifth one was left in place until the vehicle was retired in 2003. 

Hercules discontinued its natural gas engine for on-road vehicles after the 1996 model 

year. Hercules continues to make natural gas engines for off-road applications. 

• Cummins L10-240G – This engine was Cummins’ first commercial natural gas product 

for heavy vehicles. The engine had lower horsepower (240 hp versus 280 hp) and torque 

(750 ft-lb versus 850 ft-lb) than was expected for the typical diesel transit bus application. 

The engine’s fuel control system was also not as well developed as the product is now. 

The system has been compared to an older gasoline carbureted engine. The tune of the 

engine was not precise and easily fell out of adjustment. This would cause problems with 

emissions and sometimes backfiring. This “out of adjustment” operation of the engine 

would cause damage to the pistons, liners, and valves. The SunLine mechanics reported 

that they approached this problem by recognizing that the tune of these engines was “art” 

and science. The tune of one of these engines would require one mechanic, and a 

supervisor to check and ensure that the settings were correct. This approach has kept the 

engine running and in high use service for more than 10 years. 

• Detroit Diesel Corporation (DDC) Series 50G – SunLine tested a prototype version of 

this engine starting in 1994. In 1997, DDC removed this prototype engine and replaced it 

7
with a production engine. There have been no new vehicles purchased by SunLine since 

the initial purchase of the CNG buses in 1993, so there has been no opportunity to 

purchase more of the DDC product. Also, the positive relationship between the 

Cummins dealer (Cummins Cal Pacific) and SunLine made another purchase of DDC 

engines in the next CNG bus order unlikely. DDC has recently removed the S50 product 

from the market for diesel and natural gas because of issues with meeting the future 

emissions certification levels. 

• Cummins B5.9G – SunLine has several of the B5.9G engines with the 195 hp setting 

and 230 hp setting. Four of the engines with the 230 hp setting have the “Plus” package 

on the engines. The “Plus” package includes an update of the electronics and feedback 

sensors for better fuel and knock control. 

• Cummins C8.3G – SunLine has two of the C8.3G engines. One of the engines is the 

standard C gas engine, and one is the C Gas Plus engine for testing. 

• John Deere Power Systems – SunLine had one Deere 6081H natural gas engine 

installed in an Orion V bus in 2000 for testing. The engine was damaged during testing 

in 2002 and was replaced with another Deere engine. This bus continues in service. 

8
SunLine’s Fueling Infrastructure

SunLine’s fueling infrastructure has evolved over time. Vehicles can appropriately fill up with 

CNG, liquefied natural gas (LNG), hydrogen, or blends of natural gas and hydrogen. Diesel and 

gasoline are not available at SunLine. 

As mentioned earlier, SunLine and SoCal Gas built the original CNG fast-fill station at the 

Thousand Palms facility with construction starting in 1993. Later in 1997, Pickens Fuel 

Corporation purchased the SoCal Gas portion of the fueling station and operation. Pickens later 

became Clean Energy in 2001. This CNG fueling station was always designed with commercial 

and public operations in mind. The station has a public filling station on the outside of the 

facility at Thousand Palms (Figure 4), and piping is run underground to SunLine’s private bus 

filling station (Figure 5). The public and private stations provide CNG at 3600 psi or 3000 psi. 

The compressor station equipment is shown in Figure 6. 

Figure 4. Public fueling at SunLine’s Thousand Palms CNG fueling station

Figure 5. CNG fueling lane and bus wash (Thousand Palms) 

9
Figure 6. CNG compressor station (Thousand Palms) 

The CNG fueling station at Thousand Palms includes two 400 hp natural gas compressors from 

Wilson Technologies and provides a 10-minute CNG fill for a transit bus. The station design 

includes six American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) tubes for a buffer to help start 

the fast fill. 

In 1995, SunLine opened a second operating location in Indio, California, called its Clean Air 

Center. Twelve buses were originally operated from this location and now 15 buses are operated. 

A CNG fueling station was added at this location in 1995 (Figure 7). This station includes both 

public and private fueling, with higher-speed fueling behind the fence of the facility. One Sulzer 

and one IMW natural gas compressor along with three ASME tubes for a buffer were installed at 

Indio (Figure 8). Fueling times range from 12 minutes up to 20 minutes depending on demand. 

Some trucks and support vehicles are also fueled at this location from the public side of the 

station. 

10
Figure 7. SunLine Clean Air Center in Indio, California 

Figure 8. CNG fueling equipment (Indio) 

11
Addition of Other Fuels 

Hydrogen fueling was added to the SunLine fueling station in Thousand Palms in 2000. 

Hydrogen production was originally provided by an electrolyzer during 2000 to 2003 (from 

Stuart Energy) and later, a natural gas reformer was added on site. SunLine also added the 

capability to fuel with a CNG and hydrogen mix. The fueling station now has a natural gas 

hydrogen reformer from HyRadix for hydrogen fuel production. 

The fuel station at SunLine’s Thousand Palms facility had LNG fueling added in 2001 as part of 

the Clean Energy partnership. Waste Management uses the LNG station as a public consumer. 

Experience at the SunLine Fueling Stations 

SunLine personnel expressed that the CNG fueling times were acceptable at both stations. A 

transit agency the size of SunLine is required to have fueling equipment that can fill a transit bus 

in 10 minutes. Overhauls for the compressors are performed by Clean Energy every two years, 

so one compressor is overhauled each year while the other compressor is kept in service. 

Drive-aways at the fueling dispenser have been the main type of safety issue that has occurred at 

the public fueling station in Thousand Palms. New drivers of light-duty vehicles at the public 

station have regularly ripped hoses off of the dispenser. As with public gasoline dispensers, the 

CNG dispenser hoses have a break-away point so that the dispenser is not damaged in the event 

of a drive-away. The hose pulls away from the dispenser and then can be repaired. However, 

one particular drive-away ripped the entire dispenser out because the hose had wrapped around 

the dispenser and did not have a chance to pull out at the break-away point. 

The transit buses do not generally have the drive-away problem because of a starter cut-out 

switch at the fueling door. When that fueling door is open, the bus cannot be started. All of the 

SunLine vehicles have the starter cut-out switch installed (including paratransit and support 

vehicles). 

SunLine has attempted to address the drive-away issue at the public station through training and 

retraining of public access consumers and their own employees. Labels with pictorial 

instructions were also added on the dispensers to help alleviate the problem. SunLine personnel 

reported that the small size of its fleet and staff has most likely made it easier to keep up training 

and awareness than it would with a larger operation. 

12
Maintenance Facilities Upgrades and Experience

In order to support operations and maintenance of CNG buses, SunLine made some 

modifications and upgrades to the maintenance facility in 1995. These modifications and 

upgrades focused around the addition of combustible gas detectors and upgrade of some of the 

electrical conduit, lighting, and ventilation in the maintenance bays. The fueling station and 

maintenance facility upgrade costs at the Thousand Palms location were reported to be $1.47 

million in 1995. Figure 9 shows the maintenance facility at Thousand Palms. There are no 

additional costs for the outside bus parking areas. The Indio maintenance facility does not have 

combustible gas detectors; however, only minor maintenance is performed there. Any major 

maintenance is performed outdoors at Indio, or the bus is taken to the Thousand Palms facility. 

The combustible gas sensors and alarms in the maintenance facility are required by building 

codes for indoor maintenance of CNG vehicles. The combustible gas detection system is 

designed to alarm at a 20% lower flammability limit (LFL) in air with a siren and lights, and at 

40% LFL the siren and lights latch on, power in the building is turned off, and the vents are 

opened in the roof of the building. The proper operation of this system is tested quarterly and the 

combustible gas detectors are calibrated every six months. 

Figure 9. Maintenance facility in Thousand Palms

SunLine’s experience with the combustible gas detectors has been problematic because of false 

positives (alarms that are not caused by an actual natural gas release). As with other CNG 

equipment at SunLine, because of early implementation, the equipment used is not as 

sophisticated or robust as equipment purchased today. When there have been actual natural gas 

releases from the buses inside the maintenance garage, the mechanics report hearing the leak 

long before the alarm goes off in the facility. SunLine would like to upgrade this system, but has 

not yet identified the funding to complete the upgrade. 

One significant incident occurred at SunLine in the maintenance facility in the first year of 

operating the CNG buses. A pressure relief device used to relieve excess pressure in the fuel 

13
cylinders on the buses failed in the maintenance facility and caught fire. The fire department 

responded, and the fire was contained quickly. There was some damage to the ceiling of the 

maintenance facility. In fact, the scorch marks are still visible. And one big problem resulted 

from this experience—the fire department used a large amount of water in the maintenance 

facility and filled up the storm sewers. SunLine had to clean up the oil and grease that spilled out 

of the facility due to the excess water. 

The lesson learned from this fire incident was the important need to include city, county, and 

local officials, especially first responders, in the CNG program from the beginning. This 

relationship with the officials needs to continue beyond the beginning and especially when any 

changes occur. Continued familiarization training for first responders is critical because of the 

number of people involved in a 24/7 operation and turnover of those people. 

14
SunLine CNG Bus Operational Experience

The decision to switch to CNG buses at SunLine has already been discussed. Some additional 

information regarding the first three years of operation (1994-1996) at SunLine was also 

documented in a report published in 1999 by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)2. The 

SAE report included both SunLine and Sacramento Regional Transit and their respective 

experience with CNG bus operations and life-cycle cost estimates. The general conclusion from 

this paper was that CNG buses were expected to meet or beat the diesel bus life-cycle cost over a 

12-year lifetime. 

The mid-term experience (1997-1999) at SunLine was investigated in discussions with SunLine 

personnel. The actual operations data were not readily available from the SunLine computer 

system because of a change in software in 1999. The mechanics and operators had become 

comfortable with the CNG buses and infrastructure by the mid-term. As new mechanics were 

added to the staff, familiarization training was provided both at the College of the Desert and 

through on-the-job training at SunLine. During the 10-year period of CNG operations in this 

report, SunLine added or turned over 50% of the approximately 20 mechanics, so there are 

several mechanics that had been involved from the beginning. This has been extremely helpful 

for training, troubleshooting, and keeping the CNG engines in tune. Several of the staff that left 

mechanic positions were promoted to supervisory roles within SunLine over the years, and this 

has also been helpful in keeping the CNG bus fleet moving. 

The rest of this section includes an evaluation of the last five years of operation costs for the 46 

CNG buses [fiscal year (FY) 2000 through FY 2004]. These analyses were completed by 

working with SunLine staff in Thousand Palms. This data period translates into July 1999 

through June 2004. Summary data for fuel consumption and maintenance costs by vehicle were 

collected from SunLine’s computer system. More detailed summary data are provided by bus in 

the Appendix. The data presented in this section include costs that are not corrected for inflation. 

Current SunLine Revenue Service 

SunLine operates 12 fixed routes with 46 CNG transit buses (as mentioned above in Table 2, the 

47th CNG bus was retired from SunLine service and operates as a mobile library from the 

SunLine operation in Thousand Palms). The 40-foot buses are randomly dispatched on the 12 

fixed routes. The Coachella Valley has average high temperatures above 100°F during the 

summer months, and the low temperatures rarely drop below 40°F, even in winter. The rainfall 

average is 6.3 inches per year. The SunLine service area includes much of the desert floor of the 

Coachella Valley. The heat, low humidity, and low rainfall make this location an extreme duty 

cycle from an environmental perspective. 

Table 3 shows by FY the total mileage, hours of operation, and average speed for all routes at 

SunLine (FY 1998 through FY 2004, with the fiscal year at SunLine being July through June). 

The general trend for the last seven years has been increasing yearly mileage (except FY2004) 

and hours of operation. The average speed of the buses has been decreasing slowly until the last 

 

2

 SAE Paper 1999-01-3738, 1999, “A Three-Year Comparison of Natural Gas and Diesel Transit Buses.” 

15
year where it went down almost one mile per hour. The slowly decreasing average speed has 

been reported to be generally related to increasing congestion in the Coachella Valley. The 

change in the last year was in reaction to changes in service planning with removal of a higher 

speed suburban route called SunLink. 

Table 3. Total Miles, Hours of Operation, and Average Speed by Fiscal Year 

Fiscal 

Year 

Total 

Miles 

Total Hours of 

Operation 

Average Speed 

(mph) 

1998 1,722,039 108,302 15.9 

1999 1,844,061 115,658 15.9 

2000 2,026,680 127,276 15.9 

2001 2,111,194 133,471 15.8 

2002 2,261,201 146,862 15.4 

2003 2,272,529 147,080 15.5 

2004 2,189,697 149,540 14.6 

Vehicle Usage

Vehicle usage was analyzed as an indicator of reliability and is shown in Table 4. For a full-size 

transit bus (40-foot), FTA’s expectation is that the bus will be used at an average rate of 

approximately 42,000 miles per year or at least 500,000 miles in a 12-year lifetime. The 

SunLine standard transit buses were used at an average rate of 56,650 miles per year each for the 

five-year evaluation period. This is well above the FTA benchmark. This indicates that these 

buses have experienced high usage and availability for service. 

The Thomas and ElDorado buses are not standard 40-foot transit buses and have lower 

expectations for usage in transit service. The Thomas buses had about 13,200 miles per year 

each for the evaluation period. The ElDorado buses had approximately 28,700 miles per year 

each for the evaluation period. The buses equipped with Cummins C8.3G and John Deere 

6081H engines had lower usage than those equipped with the Cummins L10-240G engine. This 

is an expected result because those three buses have been used as prototype test engines from the 

two manufacturers. The intent of testing these three engines has been to examine how the 

engines might operate and potentially fail in extreme desert conditions. 

16
Table 4. Average Annual Miles by Bus Group

Bus Engine Model Number of 

Buses 

Five-Year 

Total Miles 

Avg. Annual 

Miles/Bus 

Orion Cummins L10-240G 31 8,780,704 56,650

Orion Cummins C8.3G 2 441,906 44,191

Orion Deere 6081H 1 116,509 23,302

Thomas Cummins B5.9G 7 463,571 13,245

ElDorado Cummins B5.9G 4 574,439 28,722

ElDorado Hercules 5.6L 1 87,569 21,892*

Total Fleet 46 10,464,698 -- 

* This ElDorado bus was retired at the beginning of FY2004. 

Fuel Economy and Cost 

The five-year average miles per gasoline gallon equivalent (MPGGE) calculations for the 

SunLine fleet are shown in Table 5. The Orion buses equipped with L10-240G engines had a 

fuel economy of 3.0 MPGGE, which equates to roughly 3.3 miles per diesel equivalent gallon. 

The other two Orion groups were slightly lower at 2.8 MPGGE. The Thomas buses had an 

average of 3.6 MPGGE, and the B5.9G-equipped ElDorado buses had an average of 5.1 MPGGE. 

Interestingly, the Hercules-equipped ElDorado bus had nearly the same fuel economy at 5.0 

MPGGE. The fuel cost-per-mile calculations are based on actual fuel costs during the time 

frame in which the fuel was consumed. 

Table 5. Average Miles per Gasoline Gallon Equivalent and Fuel Cost-per-Mile 

Bus Engine Model Number of 

Buses 

Five-Year Avg. 

MPGGE 

Fuel Cost 

($)/Mile 

Orion Cummins L10-240G 31 3.0 0.35 

Orion Cummins C8.3G* 2 2.8 0.38 

Orion Deere 6081H* 1 2.8 0.40 

Thomas Cummins B5.9G 7 3.6 0.29 

ElDorado Cummins B5.9G 4 5.1 0.21 

ElDorado Hercules 5.6L 1 5.0 0.20 

Total Fleet 46 3.1 0.34 

* Prototype test engines 

Clean Energy determined CNG fuel costs based on the base natural gas price, total CNG 

consumed from the stations (Thousand Palms and Indio) including the public and SunLine 

consumption, and operations and maintenance costs for each station. SunLine purchases natural 

gas in a three-year block to help keep costs down. Table 6 shows a summary of total CNG 

consumed at the SunLine stations and average cost by fiscal year (1999 through 2004). 

17
Table 6. CNG Consumption and Cost at SunLine Fueling Stations 

Fiscal Year Therms Gasoline Gallon 

Equivalent (GGE) Cost ($) Average Cost ($)/GGE 

1999 1,099,956 879,965 556,777 0.64 

2000 1,267,399 1,013,920 852,674 0.84 

2001 1,271,318 1,017,055 1,252,337 1.23 

2002 1,365,692 1,092,554 1,166,949 1.07 

2003 1,317,343 1,053,874 1,049,069 1.00 

2004 1,219,578 975,662 1,071,656 1.10 

Total/ 

Average 

7,541,286/ 

1,256,881 

6,033,030/ 

1,005,505 

5,949,462/ 

991,577 0.99 

Figure 10 shows the average fuel economy by bus study group for each of the five years. The 

Hercules engine-equipped ElDorado bus was out of service for FY 2002 and that data point has 

been removed from the chart. The last year (FY 2004) for the Thomas buses was removed 

because the data were incomplete. Two of the Thomas buses used a hydrogen CNG mixture that 

was not accounted for in the SunLine computer system. 

0.00

1.00

2.00

3.00

4.00

5.00

6.00

FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004

Thomas Cummins B5.9G Orion Cummins L10-240G Orion Deere 6081H

Orion Cummins C8.3G ElDorado Cummins B5.9G ElDorado Hercules

Figure 10. Average fuel economy (MPGGE) by fiscal year for each bus group

Maintenance Costs

Maintenance costs were collected by bus from SunLine’s annual summary reports. These costs 

included actual parts and labor costs by bus, and then these costs were summarized by bus study 

group as shown in Table 7. The maintenance cost-per-mile for the entire SunLine fleet was 

$0.36 per mile for the five-year analysis period. This number was most influenced by the 31 

18
Orion V buses equipped with the Cummins L10-240G engine, which had a cost-per-mile of 

$0.35. 

The Orion V buses with the Cummins C8.3G and Deere engines had significantly higher 

maintenance costs than the buses with the Cummins L10-240G engines. This occurred because 

of the status of the engines as a test for operation, reliability, and durability in the desert. The 

maintenance costs for these three buses included repairs as well as modification costs for 

installing these engines and equipment. These were only three buses out of 46 and had little 

impact on the overall cost-per-mile of the fleet. 

The Thomas buses were relatively expensive to maintain. The ElDorado buses have performed 

below the average cost-per-mile for the rest of the fleet, except for the Hercules engine-equipped 

bus, which has been retired. The rest of the ElDorado study group are planned to be taken out of 

service at the end of the calendar year 2005. 

19
Table 7. Total Maintenance Cost by Bus Study Group (FY 2000-FY 2004) 

Bus Study Group Mileage 

Base Parts Cost ($) Labor Cost ($) Total Cost ($) Cost ($) / Mile 

Orion/Cummins L10-

240G 8,780,704 1,738,073.42 1,323,966.07 3,062,039.49 0.35 

Orion/Cummins 

C8.3G* 441,906 111,463.69 99,495.35 210,959.04 0.48 

Orion/Deere 6081H* 116,509 49,610.10 38,221.93 87,832.03 0.75 

Thomas/Cummins 

B5.9G 463,571 92,946.28 123,441.03 216,387.31 0.47 

ElDorado/Cummins 

B5.9G 574,439 80,065.40 94,826.28 174,891.68 0.30 

ElDorado/Hercules 87,569 18,790.54 16,427.66 35,218.20 0.40 

Total Fleet 10,464,698 2,090,949.43 1,696,378.32 3,787,327.75 0.36 

* Prototype test engines 

The Cummins L10-240G engine has been the workhorse of the SunLine fleet with 31 of 46 buses 

using this engine (67% of the buses and 84% of the total mileage of the fleet during the analysis 

period). This engine has been reported by other transit agencies as underpowered and difficult 

(if not impossible) to maintain. This natural gas engine has primitive (open-loop) electronic 

control compared to new natural gas engines and has had problems with the high-energy spark 

plugs and wires, mixer, and regulators. All of these items were specialty items for this engine 

and the cost for these parts reflects the low volume of engines manufactured. Cummins (and 

other natural gas engine manufacturers) have gone to more sophisticated electronic controls, 

better sensors, and coil-over-plug configurations for the spark plugs and wires, which have 

significantly changed maintainability and cost. 

SunLine has attempted to address the high parts costs mentioned above by finding other parts 

sources. The spark plug wires from Cummins cost approximately $100 each and SunLine has 

found a vendor that supplies essentially the same part for $50 each. The spark plugs have 

traditionally cost approximately $20 each from Cummins, and SunLine has found the same spark 

plugs for around $10 each. 

More cost savings at SunLine have resulted from its experience with the engines and their tuneups. Cummins recommends tune-ups at 18,000 miles, 36,000 miles, and 72,000 miles. SunLine 

has extended those tune-ups to 24,000 miles, 48,000 miles, and 96,000 miles for each engine (or 

at least twice per year). However, the activities are “by the book.” A tune- up consists of 

changing the spark plugs and air filter, checking the oxygen sensor (including using an exhaust 

analyzer), and checking the Woodward controller settings. SunLine also has the mechanics 

inspect the operation of the CNG buses every day. At the 48,000 mile tune-up, the SunLine 

mechanics also replace the fuel system O-rings, valve cover tubes, and adjust the valves. 

All of the Cummins’ natural gas engines use a special low ash content engine oil, and the L10-

240G engines are no different. The original oil change interval recommendation from Cummins 

is every 6,000 miles. SunLine tested extending this oil change interval all the way to 24,000 

miles using oil analysis at every 6,000 miles. They found that the engine oil was acceptable up 

to 18,000 miles except during the summer months. SunLine decided on an oil change interval 

20
every 12,000 miles to keep the oil changes standardized during the year. However, the engine 

oil for all of the buses is still analyzed every 6,000 miles to make sure there are no problems. 

The engine oil change intervals and practices have been in place since 1999 with no known 

issues. 

SunLine also reports cost savings for the CNG buses compared to their previous experience with 

diesel engine equipped buses. The reported savings come from a reduced quantity of hazardous 

waste collected from cleaning the engines and used engine oil. 

SunLine has determined that the best time to start rebuilding all of the Cummins L10-240G 

engines is at about 500,000 miles, which is the same as it would have been with diesel engines. 

Most experience with early natural gas engine technology has been reported as much lower 

vehicle usage before an engine rebuild was required. SunLine has had excellent experience with 

the need for rebuilding the Cummins L10-240G engines. Some Cummins L10-240G engines at 

SunLine have been used well beyond 500,000 miles before rebuilding (the average mileage of 

the Cummins L10-240G engine equipped buses was 541,000 miles at the end of the evaluation 

period, with only 12 of the 31 buses having the rebuild). The engine rebuild cost is typically 

between $13,000 and $15,000 for each engine. Table 8 shows the engine rebuilds that have been 

completed and several significant engine repairs with the date and odometer of those repairs. 

The table also shows the odometer reading for each of these Orion V buses at the end of the 

operations analysis period (June 2004). 

SunLine has kept the three Cummins L10-240G engines that were removed from the Orion buses, 

which now have Cummins C8.3G and Deere 6081H engines. These three L10 engines are used 

as “swing” engines during the rebuild process. When a bus comes in for the 500,000 mile engine 

rebuild, that engine is removed, and one of the three spare L10 engines is used as a replacement. 

21
Table 8. Engine Rebuilds for Orion V Buses with Cummins L10-240G Engines 

Bus Rebuild 

Date 

Rebuild 

Mileage Notes Odometer at End of Data Period (June 2004) 

501 2/24/2004 602,772 623,860 

502 560,237 

503 585,780 

504 6/1/2002 405,210 525,754 

505 567,389 

506 557,980 

507 12/30/2004 594,680 Installed rebuilt cylinder head 568,052 

508 8/27/2003 496,317 541,238 

509 559,974 

510 12/7/2004 584,307 556,667 

511 10/30/2003 530,391 Replaced two piston liners and heads 568,037 

512 556,016 

513 579,642 

514 10/14/2000 332,408 533,083 

515 8/15/2002 168,145 Replaced one piston liner and head 529,429 

516 10/19/2004 631,435 614,359 

517 4/9/2002 428,784 548,881 

520 529,281 

521 530,996 

522 523,661 

523 395,290 

524 542,782 

525 6/19/2002 N/A Replaced one piston liner and head 576,450 

526 4/3/2003 481,387 Replaced six piston liners and heads 522,488 

527 558,412 

528 8/31/2004 562,392 562,386 

529 6/29/2004 526,656 526,656 

530 5/1/2003 490,747 555,357 

533 1/11/2004 532,467 556,264 

534 307,677 

535 2/25/2003 444,898 506,921 

N/A: Not available. 

Roadcalls 

A roadcall (RC) is defined as an on-road failure of an in-service bus if it requires the bus to be 

taken out of service or replaced on route. RCs are a direct indicator of reliability for transit buses. 

Many problems that can cause an RC do not involve the engine or drivetrain. These non-engine 

and drivetrain problems typically involve the door systems, because when a door is open, the bus 

cannot move. Other issues that might cause an RC include inoperability of the air conditioning 

or wheelchair lift. 

Table 9 shows results of miles between RCs for each of the study bus groups over the analysis 

period. SunLine did not have a complete record of the cause of these RCs, so only the miles 

between all RCs are presented in the table. The Orion buses with Cummins L10-240G engines 

had the highest average miles between RCs of the bus study groups. 

22
Table 9. Total Roadcalls by Bus Study Group (FY 2000 - FY 2004)

Bus Engine Model Mileage 

Base Total RCs Miles Between RCs 

Orion Cummins L10-240G 8,780,704 667 13,164 

Orion Cummins C8.3G* 441,906 77 5,739 

Orion Deere 6081H* 116,509 24 4,855 

Thomas Cummins B5.9G 463,571 96 4,829 

ElDorado Cummins B5.9G 574,439 58 9,904 

ElDorado Hercules 5.6L 87,579 29 3,020 

Total Fleet 10,464,698 951 11,004 

* Prototype test engines 

Total Fuel and Maintenance Cost-per-Mile

Table 10 presents total fuel and maintenance cost-per-mile for each of the bus study groups. The 

ElDorado buses had the lowest total cost-per-mile. The Orion buses with Cummins L10-240G 

engines had the next lowest total cost-per-mile with the Thomas buses only slightly higher. The 

Orion bus with the Deere engine had the highest total cost-per-mile, and the Orion buses with the 

Cummins C8.3G engines had the next highest total cost-per-mile. These higher costs were 

caused by higher maintenance costs for the testing activities for these engines. 

Table 10. Summary of Fuel and Maintenance Cost-per-Mile 

by Bus Study Group (FY 2000-FY 2004)

Bus Engine Model Fuel Cost 

($) / Mile 

Maintenance 

Cost ($) / Mile 

Total Cost 

($) / Mile 

Orion Cummins L10-240G 0.35 0.35 0.70 

Orion Cummins C8.3G* 0.38 0.48 0.86 

Orion Deere 6081H* 0.40 0.75 1.16 

Thomas Cummins B5.9G 0.29 0.47 0.73 

ElDorado Cummins B5.9G 0.21 0.30 0.51 

ElDorado Hercules 5.6L 0.21 0.40 0.61 

Total Fleet 034 0.36 0.70 

* Prototype test engines 

23
Other Projects at SunLine 

SunLine is a small transit agency with limited resources. Along with multiple partners, SunLine 

has entered into many projects over the past 10 years that have been associated with transit, 

natural gas, hydrogen, fuel cells, and combinations of these fuels and technologies. The 

objectives have been to advance clean transit bus propulsion systems and to leverage project 

funding, so SunLine can afford additional and new buses and infrastructure. 

The novelty of a small transit agency, such as SunLine, to convert completely to natural gas for 

all vehicles and the additional projects with advanced propulsion and infrastructure has 

developed great interest in the transit industry, within California, across the United States, and 

worldwide. SunLine has hosted many visitors to view its operation and the equipment used. The 

number of visitors gradually increased over time, and SunLine eventually decided to develop 

training materials and an on-site tour so that visitors could learn about its projects and processes. 

From this, the Clean Fuels Mall was born. The Clean Fuels Mall tour at SunLine includes 10 

stations: 

1. An energy sustainability model 

2. Fuel cell vehicle garage 

3. Teledyne electrolyzer 

4. Solar collectors 

5. Stuart Energy electrolyzer 

6. Mini hydrogen station 

7. Hydrogen storage system 

8. Trace Technologies inverter 

9. Hyradix reformer 

10. Fueling mall (compressed and liquefied natural gas, hydrogen, and a mixture of hydrogen 

and compressed natural gas). 

The hydrogen fueling capability at this station has been used to demonstrate a fuel cell bus using 

a Ballard fuel cell in 2001, as well as a ThunderPower fuel cell bus with a UTC fuel cell in 2002 

through 2003. Both buses are shown in Figure 11. 

Figure 11. Fuel cell buses tested in operation at SunLine (left – ThunderPower bus with a 

UTC fuel cell power plant; right – P4 Ballard fuel cell-powered bus) 

24
SunLine has also been testing buses operating on a mixture of natural gas and hydrogen. The 

objective of mixing hydrogen into natural gas as a vehicle fuel is to significantly reduce oxides 

of nitrogen emissions from vehicles. 

25
Future Bus Operations at SunLine

SunLine feels the future of CNG bus operations is bright. Current plans include the imminent 

delivery of 15 new Orion V CNG buses with Cummins L Gas Plus engines (purchased on an 

existing order from the Fresno Area Express transit agency) in early 2006. SunLine plans to 

replace the entire heavy CNG bus fleet by 2009. SunLine is also looking for opportunities to 

expand its bus service so that the Orion buses with rebuilt Cummins L10-240G engines can 

continue to be used. These buses are capable of several more years of service because the desert 

does not promote rust and deterioration of the bus body and frame. 

The newest bus in service at SunLine is their hydrogen hybrid internal combustion engine bus 

(Figure 12). The bus model is from New Flyer, the engine is a Ford V10 H2, and the hybrid 

electric propulsion system is from Siemens. ISE Research provided the integration of the system 

and the Siemens hybrid electric propulsion system. 

The next new bus from ISE Research is a hybrid fuel cell bus with a Van Hool chassis using the 

Siemens hybrid electric propulsion system and a UTC fuel cell power plant. This fuel cell bus 

was purchased with three others for AC Transit in Oakland, California. These four fuel cell 

buses are essentially identical and the SunLine fuel cell bus from ISE and Van Hool is shown in 

Figure 13. This bus was delivered to SunLine in November 2005. 

Figure 12. Hydrogen hybrid internal combustion engine bus

26
Figure 13. SunLine ISE/Van Hool/UTC fuel cell bus 

27
References

1. Beach, C.; Cooke, M.; Daly, T.; Finley, B.; Leroy, C. A Three-Year Comparison of 

Natural Gas and Diesel Transit Buses. 1999-01-3738.Warrendale, PA: SAE International, 

1999. 

2. Eudy, L. Natural Gas in Transit Fleets: A Review of the Transit Experience. NREL/TP540-31479. Golden, CO: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 2002. 

3. Motta, R.; Norton, P.; Kelly, K.; Chandler, K.; Schumacher, L.; Clark, N. Alternative 

Fuel Transit Buses, Final Results from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory 

(NREL) Vehicle Evaluation Program. NREL/TP-425-20513. Golden, CO: National 

Renewable Energy Laboratory, 1996. 

4. Chandler, K.; Eudy, L. ThunderPower Bus Evaluation at SunLine Transit Agency. 

DOE/GO-102003-1786. Golden, CO: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 2003. 

5. Munshi, S.; Nedelcu, C.; Harris, J.; Edwards, T.; Williams, J.; Lynch, F.; Frailey, M.; 

Dixon, G.; Wayne, S.; Nine, R. Hydrogen Blended Natural Gas Operation of a Heavy 

Duty Turbocharged Lean Burn Spark Ignition Engine. 2004-01-2956. Warrendale, PA: 

SAE International, 2004. 

6. Kamel, M.; Lyford-Pike, E.; Frailey, M.; Bolin, M.; Clark, N.; Nine, R.; Wayne, S. An 

Emission and Performance Comparison of the Natural Gas Cummins Westport Inc. CGas Plus versus Diesel in Heavy-Duty Trucks. 2002-01-2737. Warrendale, PA: SAE 

International, 2002. 

7. Eudy, L.; Parish, R.; Leonard, J.; Arthur, D. Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bus Evaluation (of the 

P4 Ballard bus operating at SunLine Transit Agency). NREL/CP-570-30535. Golden, 

CO: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 2001. 

28
Appendix A: List of Buses 

29
Vehicle VIN Make/Model Year Start at SunLine Used Length Width Fuel Engine Make/Model Notes

801 1T75T2F28S1130061 Thomas MVP 1995 6/1/1999 Yes 40 96 CNG Cummins B5.9G+ 230 hp In chassis rebuild to 802 1T75T2F25S1130065 Thomas MVP 1995 6/1/1999 Yes 40 96 CNG Cummins B5.9G+ 230 hp In chassis rebuild to 803 1T75T2F29S1130067 Thomas MVP 1995 6/1/1999 Yes 40 96 CNG Cummins B5.9G+ 230 hp In chassis rebuild to 804 1T75T2F24S1130073 Thomas MVP 1995 6/1/1999 Yes 40 96 CNG Cummins B5.9G+ 230 hp In chassis rebuild to 805 1T75T2F26S1130074 Thomas MVP 1995 6/1/1999 Yes 40 96 CNG Cummins B5.9G 195 hp806 1T75T2F2XS1130076 Thomas MVP 1995 6/1/1999 Yes 40 96 CNG Cummins B5.9G 195 hp807 1T75T2F21S1130077 Thomas MVP 1995 6/1/1999 Yes 40 96 CNG Cummins B5.9G 195 hp501 2B1569K71R6031839 Orion V 1994 3/31/1994 No 40 102 CNG Cummins L10-240G502 2B1569K70R6031864 Orion V 1994 3/31/1994 No 40 102 CNG Cummins L10-240G503 2B1569K76R6031867 Orion V 1994 4/4/1994 No 40 102 CNG Cummins L10-240G504 2B1569K73R6031874 Orion V 1994 3/30/1994 No 40 102 CNG Cummins L10-240G505 2B1569K79B6031877 Orion V 1994 4/1/1994 No 40 102 CNG Cummins L10-240G506 2B1569K70R6031881 Orion V 1994 4/5/1994 No 40 102 CNG Cummins L10-240G507 2B1569K76R6031884 Orion V 1994 4/9/1994 No 40 102 CNG Cummins L10-240G508 2B1569K73R6031888 Orion V 1994 4/5/1994 No 40 102 CNG Cummins L10-240G509 2B1569K79R6031894 Orion V 1994 4/6/1994 No 40 102 CNG Cummins L10-240G510 2B1569K76R6031898 Orion V 1994 4/20/1994 No 40 102 CNG Cummins L10-240G511 2B1569K72R6031901 Orion V 1994 4/14/1994 No 40 102 CNG Cummins L10-240G512 2B1569K7XR6031905 Orion V 1994 4/14/1994 No 40 102 CNG Cummins L10-240G513 2B1569K75R6031908 Orion V 1994 4/16/1994 No 40 102 CNG Cummins L10-240G514 2B1569K75R6031911 Orion V 1994 4/20/1994 No 40 102 CNG Cummins L10-240G515 2B1569K77R6031912 Orion V 1994 4/23/1994 No 40 102 CNG Cummins L10-240G516 2B1569K79R6031913 Orion V 1994 4/30/1994 No 40 102 CNG Cummins L10-240G517 2B1569K70R6031914 Orion V 1994 4/18/1994 No 40 102 CNG Cummins L10-240G518 2B1569K72R6031915 Orion V 1994 4/16/1994 No 40 102 CNG John Deere 6081H Repowered from L1520 2B1569K76R6031917 Orion V 1994 4/21/1994 No 40 102 CNG Cummins L10-240G521 2B1569K78R6031918 Orion V 1994 4/22/1994 No 40 102 CNG Cummins L10-240G522 2B1569K7XR6031919 Orion V 1994 4/24/1994 No 40 102 CNG Cummins L10-240G523 2B1569K78R6031921 Orion V 1994 5/6/1994 No 40 102 CNG Cummins L10-240G524 2B1569K7XR6031922 Orion V 1994 5/12/1994 No 40 102 CNG Cummins L10-240G525 2B1569K71R6031923 Orion V 1994 5/7/1994 No 40 102 CNG Cummins L10-240G526 2B1569K73R6031924 Orion V 1994 5/14/1994 No 40 102 CNG Cummins L10-240G527 2B1569K75R6031925 Orion V 1994 5/15/1994 No 40 102 CNG Cummins L10-240G528 2B1569K79R6031927 Orion V 1994 5/24/1994 No 40 102 CNG Cummins L10-240G529 2B1569K79R6031930 Orion V 1994 5/25/1994 No 40 102 CNG Cummins L10-240G530 2B1569K74R6031933 Orion V 1994 5/30/1994 No 40 102 CNG Cummins L10-240G533 2B1569K73R6031941 Orion V 1994 6/7/1994 No 40 102 CNG Cummins L10-240G534 2B1569K70R6031945 Orion V 1994 6/7/1994 No 40 102 CNG Cummins L10-240G535 2B1569K74R6031916 Orion V 1994 4/22/1994 No 40 102 CNG Cummins L10-240G603 1N9EBAH63RC084015 ElDorado MO 1994 4/18/1994 No 29 CNG Hercules NG engine out of service in FY

1477 81063 Gillig 1985 1/1/1985 No 40 102 CNG DDC Series 50G out of service in FY

531 2B1569K7XR6031936 Orion V 1994 5/29/1994 No 40 102 CNG Cummins C8.3G+ Repowered from L1532 2B1569K73R6031938 Orion V 1994 6/6/1994 No 40 102 CNG Cummins C8.3G Repowered from L1601 1N9EBAH68RC084012 ElDorado MO 1994 4/6/1994 No 29 CNG Cummins B5.9G 195 hp Repowered from He602 1N9EBAHxxRC084xxx ElDorado MO 1994 4/18/1994 No 29 CNG Cummins B5.9G 230 hp Repowered from He604 1N9EBAH6XRC084013 ElDorado MO 1994 4/18/1994 No 29 CNG Cummins B5.9G 230 hp Repowered from He605 1N9EBAH65RC084016 ElDorado MO 1994 4/19/1994 No 29 CNG Cummins B5.9G 195 hp Repowered from He

30
Appendix B: Summary Data by Bus Group

31
Summary Data by Bus Group

Thomas Buses/Cummins B5.9G Engines (801-807)

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 67,212 64,268 86,705 92,400 152,986 463,571

Roadcalls 11 9 26 20 30 96

Miles Between RCs 6,110 7,141 3,335 4,620 5,100 4,829

Fuel Amount 18,063 18,944 23,564 25,715 28,936 115,222

Fuel Cost ($) 15,173 23,301 25,213 25,715 31,830 121,232

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.04

MPG 3.72 3.39 3.68 3.59 3.60

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.226 0.363 0.291 0.278 0.208 0.288

Parts Cost ($) 9,835 15,892 20,485 19,767 26,967 92,946

Labor Cost ($) 16,551 14,432 17,251 25,318 49,889 123,441

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.393 0.472 0.435 0.488 0.502 0.467

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.618 0.834 0.726 0.766 0.710 0.728

Min Hubodometer 34,002 45,112 55,911 69,440 75,953

Max Hubodometer 65,547 74,266 89,765 105,400 128,341

Orion Buses/Cummins L10-240G Engines (501-517; 520-530; 533-535)

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 1,759,876 1,778,284 1,870,528 1,750,797 1,621,219 8,780,704

Roadcalls 125 159 125 142 116 667

Miles Between RCs 14,079 11,184 14,964 12,330 13,976 13,164

Fuel Amount 573,038 577,841 645,535 598,898 577,286 2,972,598

Fuel Cost ($) 481,352 710,744 690,722 598,898 635,015 3,116,731

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.05

MPG 3.07 3.08 2.90 2.92 2.81 2.95

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.274 0.400 0.369 0.342 0.392 0.355

Parts Cost ($) 237,889 367,846 454,763 338,651 338,925 1,738,073

Labor Cost ($) 194,233 238,092 264,450 291,410 335,782 1,323,966

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.246 0.341 0.384 0.360 0.416 0.349

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.519 0.740 0.754 0.702 0.808 0.704

Min Hubodometer 100,799 151,409 205,591 256,799 307,677

Max Hubodometer 390,490 444,325 509,683 566,644 623,860

Orion Bus/Deere 6081H Engine (518)

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 599 39,458 24,109 38,879 13,464 116,509

Roadcalls 0 11 1 11 1 24

Miles Between RCs 3,587 24,109 3,534 13,464 4,855

Fuel Amount 104 15,464 8,724 13,555 4,506 42,353

Fuel Cost ($) 87 19,021 9,335 13,555 4,957 46,954

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.11

MPG 2.55 2.76 2.87 2.99 2.75

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.146 0.482 0.387 0.349 0.368 0.403

Parts Cost ($) 9,105 13,306 11,111 13,437 2,653 49,610

Labor Cost ($) 8,261 8,710 6,685 9,480 5,086 38,222

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 28.992 0.558 0.738 0.589 0.575 0.754

Total Cost ($)/Mile 29.137 1.040 1.125 0.938 0.943 1.157

Hubodometer 259,747 299,205 323,314 362,193 375,657

32
Orion Buses/Cummins C8.3G Engines (531-532)

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 73,026 80,030 82,334 108,849 97,667 441,906

Roadcalls 23 15 7 11 21 77

Miles Between RCs 3,175 5,335 11,762 9,895 4,651 5,739

Fuel Amount 26,971 31,530 33,174 36,310 32,829 160,814

Fuel Cost ($) 22,656 38,782 35,496 36,310 36,112 169,356

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.05

MPG 2.71 2.54 2.48 3.00 2.98 2.75

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.310 0.485 0.431 0.334 0.370 0.383

Parts Cost ($) 16,304 24,246 26,168 24,527 20,219 111,464

Labor Cost ($) 13,828 18,486 18,348 19,991 28,842 99,495

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.413 0.534 0.541 0.409 0.502 0.477

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.723 1.019 0.972 0.743 0.872 0.861

Min Hubodometer 155,927 201,601 246,609 326,937 390,748

Max Hubodometer 270,826 305,182 342,508 371,029 404,885

ElDorado Buses/Cummins B5.9G Engines (601, 602, 604, 605)

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 93,015 100,833 98,138 110,046 172,407 574,439

Roadcalls 13 7 8 13 17 58

Miles Between RCs 7,155 14,405 12,267 8,465 10,142 9,904

Fuel Amount 17,698 20,225 19,304 21,382 33,589 112,198

Fuel Cost ($) 14,866 24,877 20,655 21,382 36,948 118,728

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.06

MPG 5.26 4.99 5.08 5.15 5.13 5.12

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.160 0.247 0.210 0.194 0.214 0.207

Parts Cost ($) 11,842 14,083 18,252 15,438 20,451 80,065

Labor Cost ($) 11,918 12,061 16,348 22,925 31,575 94,826

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.255 0.259 0.353 0.349 0.302 0.304

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.415 0.506 0.563 0.543 0.516 0.511

Min Hubodometer 103,885 88,275 88,300 96,586 145,427

Max Hubodometer 188,106 222,128 263,036 304,047 347,656

ElDorado Bus/Hercules Engine (603)

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 21,281 24,668 0 41,320 300 87,569

Roadcalls 3 14 0 12 0 29

Miles Between RCs 7,094 1,762 3,443 3,020

Fuel Amount 3,735 4,714 0 8,896 100 17,445

Fuel Cost ($) 3,137 5,798 0 8,896 110 17,942

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.00 1.10 1.03

MPG 5.70 5.23 4.64 3.00 5.02

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.147 0.235 0.215 0.367 0.205

Parts Cost ($) 2,887 3,533 0 12,016 354 18,791

Labor Cost ($) 3,097 3,284 0 9,523 523 16,428

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.281 0.276 0.521 2.923 0.402

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.429 0.511 0.737 3.290 0.607

Hubodometer 127,174 151,842 151,842 193,162 193,462

33
Appendix C: SunLine Fleet Fuel and Maintenance Costs 

34
SunLine Fleet Fuel and Maintenance Costs

Summary Entire Fleet

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 2,015,009 2,087,541 2,161,814 2,142,291 2,058,043 10,464,698

Roadcalls 175 215 167 209 185 951

Miles Between RCs 11,514 9,709 12,945 10,250 11,125 11,004

Fuel Amount 639,609 668,718 730,301 704,756 677,246 3,420,630

Fuel Cost ($) 537,272 822,523 781,422 704,756 744,971 3,590,943

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.05

MPG 3.15 3.12 2.96 3.04 3.04 3.06

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.267 0.394 0.361 0.329 0.362 0.343

Parts Cost ($) 287,861 438,905 530,779 423,836 409,568 2,090,949

Labor Cost ($) 247,889 295,064 323,083 378,647 451,695 1,696,378

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.266 0.352 0.395 0.375 0.418 0.362

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.533 0.746 0.756 0.704 0.780 0.705

Bus 501

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 58,325 53,835 65,358 56,463 57,714 291,695

Roadcalls 4 10 3 4 2 23

Miles Between RCs 14,581 5,384 21,786 14,116 28,857 12,682

Fuel Amount 18,280 17,751 22,560 20,025 20,569 99,185

Fuel Cost ($) 15,355 21,834 24,139 20,025 22,626 103,979

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.05

MPG 3.19 3.03 2.90 2.82 2.81 2.94

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.263 0.406 0.369 0.355 0.392 0.356

Parts Cost ($) 13,608 12,890 10,413 11,856 11,396 60,163

Labor Cost ($) 6,827 8,230 7,890 9,188 11,124 43,258

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.350 0.392 0.280 0.373 0.390 0.355

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.614 0.798 0.649 0.727 0.782 0.711

Hubodometer 390,490 444,325 509,683 566,146 623,860

Bus 502

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 63,451 44,304 61,323 61,373 60,595 291,046

Roadcalls 5 1 11 6 5 28

Miles Between RCs 12,690 44,304 5,575 10,229 12,119 10,395

Fuel Amount 21,603 14,047 20,681 20,264 21,282 97,877

Fuel Cost ($) 18,147 17,278 22,129 20,264 23,410 101,227

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.03

MPG 2.94 3.15 2.97 3.03 2.85 2.97

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.286 0.390 0.361 0.330 0.386 0.348

Parts Cost ($) 7,591 21,400 14,479 13,685 11,396 68,550

Labor Cost ($) 6,639 7,585 9,347 11,241 11,124 45,935

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.224 0.654 0.389 0.406 0.372 0.393

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.510 1.044 0.749 0.736 0.758 0.741

Hubodometer 332,642 376,946 438,269 499,642 560,237

35
Bus 503

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 65,529 49,950 62,495 76,677 79,356 334,007

Roadcalls 9 8 5 7 6 35

Miles Between RCs 7,281 6,244 12,499 10,954 13,226 9,543

Fuel Amount 23,023 16,019 21,080 24,621 25,886 110,629

Fuel Cost ($) 19,339 19,703 22,556 24,621 28,475 114,694

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.04

MPG 2.85 3.12 2.96 3.11 3.07 3.02

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.295 0.394 0.361 0.321 0.359 0.343

Parts Cost ($) 7,131 12,407 10,665 13,306 9,116 52,625

Labor Cost ($) 7,374 8,316 9,059 10,947 14,171 49,867

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.221 0.415 0.316 0.316 0.293 0.307

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.516 0.809 0.677 0.637 0.652 0.650

Hubodometer 317,302 367,252 429,747 506,424 585,780

Bus 504

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 64,163 57,647 49,897 61,738 58,716 292,161

Roadcalls 5 6 8 6 5 30

Miles Between RCs 12,833 9,608 6,237 10,290 11,743 9,739

Fuel Amount 20,979 18,821 17,023 21,014 20,430 98,267

Fuel Cost ($) 17,622 23,150 18,215 21,014 22,473 102,474

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.04

MPG 3.06 3.06 2.93 2.94 2.87 2.97

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.275 0.402 0.365 0.340 0.383 0.351

Parts Cost ($) 12,553 9,384 22,316 13,131 9,482 66,867

Labor Cost ($) 6,773 8,283 7,866 8,911 10,219 42,051

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.301 0.306 0.605 0.357 0.336 0.373

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.576 0.708 0.970 0.697 0.718 0.724

Hubodometer 297,756 355,403 405,300 467,038 525,754

Bus 505

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 60,410 58,346 61,861 61,319 56,142 298,078

Roadcalls 2 8 4 1 2 17

Miles Between RCs 30,205 7,293 15,465 61,319 28,071 17,534

Fuel Amount 18,904 19,389 20,932 20,612 19,188 99,025

Fuel Cost ($) 15,879 23,848 22,397 20,612 21,107 103,844

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.05

MPG 3.20 3.01 2.96 2.97 2.93 3.01

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.263 0.409 0.362 0.336 0.376 0.348

Parts Cost ($) 8,715 12,271 10,040 10,727 9,939 51,692

Labor Cost ($) 6,802 8,528 9,652 9,905 11,652 46,539

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.257 0.356 0.318 0.336 0.385 0.330

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.520 0.765 0.680 0.673 0.761 0.678

Hubodometer 329,721 388,067 449,928 511,247 567,389

36
Bus 506

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 61,718 56,639 62,849 52,262 53,316 286,784

Roadcalls 7 3 7 6 4 27

Miles Between RCs 8,817 18,880 8,978 8,710 13,329 10,622

Fuel Amount 20,745 19,170 22,265 18,437 20,096 100,713

Fuel Cost ($) 17,426 23,579 23,824 18,437 22,106 105,371

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.05

MPG 2.98 2.95 2.82 2.83 2.65 2.85

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.282 0.416 0.379 0.353 0.415 0.367

Parts Cost ($) 5,418 14,456 14,656 12,046 10,264 56,840

Labor Cost ($) 6,164 8,162 8,863 9,962 10,385 43,536

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.188 0.399 0.374 0.421 0.387 0.350

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.470 0.816 0.753 0.774 0.802 0.717

Hubodometer 332,914 389,553 452,402 504,664 557,980

Bus 507

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 60,615 67,881 66,598 60,177 51,933 307,204

Roadcalls 0 4 5 3 6 18

Miles Between RCs 16,970 13,320 20,059 8,656 17,067

Fuel Amount 18,452 18,666 23,748 21,049 18,211 100,126

Fuel Cost ($) 15,500 22,959 25,410 21,049 20,032 104,950

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.05

MPG 3.29 3.64 2.80 2.86 2.85 3.07

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.256 0.338 0.382 0.350 0.386 0.342

Parts Cost ($) 5,522 12,671 12,016 15,443 7,607 53,259

Labor Cost ($) 4,788 7,850 7,906 9,613 10,809 40,966

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.170 0.302 0.299 0.416 0.355 0.307

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.426 0.641 0.681 0.766 0.740 0.648

Hubodometer 321,463 389,344 455,942 516,119 568,052

Bus 508

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 56,074 50,914 56,945 68,086 51,641 283,660

Roadcalls 3 12 5 1 6 27

Miles Between RCs 18,691 4,243 11,389 68,086 8,607 10,506

Fuel Amount 18,281 17,086 24,393 20,908 19,604 100,272

Fuel Cost ($) 15,356 21,016 26,101 20,908 21,564 104,945

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.05

MPG 3.07 2.98 2.33 3.26 2.63 2.83

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.274 0.413 0.458 0.307 0.418 0.370

Parts Cost ($) 10,670 14,436 14,706 16,989 13,015 69,815

Labor Cost ($) 7,783 8,398 8,970 10,502 10,813 46,466

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.329 0.448 0.416 0.404 0.461 0.410

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.603 0.861 0.874 0.711 0.879 0.780

Hubodometer 313,652 364,566 421,511 489,597 541,238

37
Bus 509

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 59,555 53,254 64,915 62,521 57,597 297,842

Roadcalls 2 3 5 10 2 22

Miles Between RCs 29,778 17,751 12,983 6,252 28,799 13,538

Fuel Amount 18,712 17,033 21,070 19,777 20,034 96,626

Fuel Cost ($) 15,718 20,951 22,545 19,777 22,037 101,028

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.05

MPG 3.18 3.13 3.08 3.16 2.87 3.08

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.264 0.393 0.347 0.316 0.383 0.339

Parts Cost ($) 7,990 10,138 10,835 12,280 10,300 51,544

Labor Cost ($) 6,874 7,995 9,146 9,832 9,551 43,398

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.250 0.341 0.308 0.354 0.345 0.319

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.514 0.734 0.655 0.670 0.727 0.658

Hubodometer 321,687 374,941 439,856 502,377 559,974

Bus 510

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 56,381 57,805 65,380 56,546 66,221 302,333

Roadcalls 3 4 4 2 4 17

Miles Between RCs 18,794 14,451 16,345 28,273 16,555 17,784

Fuel Amount 18,519 18,145 22,537 19,030 21,728 99,959

Fuel Cost ($) 15,556 22,318 24,115 19,030 23,901 104,920

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.05

MPG 3.04 3.19 2.90 2.97 3.05 3.02

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.276 0.386 0.369 0.337 0.361 0.347

Parts Cost ($) 10,339 10,874 10,428 12,974 11,470 56,086

Labor Cost ($) 6,702 7,735 7,957 8,810 14,346 45,550

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.302 0.322 0.281 0.385 0.390 0.336

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.578 0.708 0.650 0.722 0.751 0.683

Hubodometer 310,715 368,520 433,900 490,446 556,667

Bus 511

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 58,607 63,637 68,397 58,170 52,913 301,724

Roadcalls 3 4 4 2 3 16

Miles Between RCs 19,536 15,909 17,099 29,085 17,638 18,858

Fuel Amount 20,552 22,429 19,606 19,553 18,433 100,573

Fuel Cost ($) 17,264 27,588 20,978 19,553 20,276 105,659

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.05

MPG 2.85 2.84 3.49 2.97 2.87 3.00

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.295 0.434 0.307 0.336 0.383 0.350

Parts Cost ($) 6,945 8,179 11,380 19,602 10,761 56,867

Labor Cost ($) 7,170 7,630 8,952 9,676 11,411 44,839

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.241 0.248 0.297 0.503 0.419 0.337

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.535 0.682 0.604 0.839 0.802 0.687

Hubodometer 324,920 388,557 456,954 515,124 568,037

38
Bus 512

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 60,635 55,664 62,253 57,787 51,233 287,572

Roadcalls 4 2 1 2 3 12

Miles Between RCs 15,159 27,832 62,253 28,894 17,078 23,964

Fuel Amount 19,553 20,629 22,932 21,614 19,918 104,646

Fuel Cost ($) 16,425 25,374 24,537 21,614 21,910 109,859

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.05

MPG 3.10 2.70 2.71 2.67 2.57 2.75

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.271 0.456 0.394 0.374 0.428 0.382

Parts Cost ($) 9,440 13,482 16,739 11,260 7,567 58,487

Labor Cost ($) 5,507 7,027 8,147 9,444 10,826 40,951

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.247 0.368 0.400 0.358 0.359 0.346

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.517 0.824 0.794 0.732 0.787 0.728

Hubodometer 329,079 384,743 446,996 504,783 556,016

Bus 513

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 60,286 60,113 67,888 56,337 52,443 297,067

Roadcalls 13 4 2 7 3 29

Miles Between RCs 4,637 15,028 33,944 8,048 17,481 10,244

Fuel Amount 19,375 19,189 22,071 18,646 18,528 97,809

Fuel Cost ($) 16,275 23,602 23,616 18,646 20,381 102,520

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.05

MPG 3.11 3.13 3.08 3.02 2.83 3.04

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.270 0.393 0.348 0.331 0.389 0.345

Parts Cost ($) 6,137 8,873 13,225 7,628 17,212 53,075

Labor Cost ($) 6,279 7,675 8,611 7,939 14,711 45,217

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.206 0.275 0.322 0.276 0.609 0.331

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.476 0.668 0.670 0.607 0.997 0.676

Hubodometer 342,861 402,974 470,862 527,199 579,642

Bus 514

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 60,553 50,320 61,950 56,256 41,226 270,305

Roadcalls 4 10 5 1 5 25

Miles Between RCs 15,138 5,032 12,390 56,256 8,245 10,812

Fuel Amount 17,827 15,640 20,928 18,566 14,052 87,013

Fuel Cost ($) 14,975 19,237 22,393 18,566 15,457 90,628

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.04

MPG 3.40 3.22 2.96 3.03 2.93 3.11

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.247 0.382 0.361 0.330 0.375 0.335

Parts Cost ($) 8,238 15,783 11,013 10,662 8,214 53,909

Labor Cost ($) 6,200 9,082 8,653 8,899 10,903 43,737

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.238 0.494 0.317 0.348 0.464 0.361

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.486 0.876 0.679 0.678 0.839 0.697

Hubodometer 323,331 373,651 435,601 491,857 533,083

39
Bus 515

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 57,529 49,767 60,409 51,506 59,117 278,328

Roadcalls 1 7 5 12 4 29

Miles Between RCs 57,529 7,110 12,082 4,292 14,779 9,598

Fuel Amount 17,744 16,417 20,747 18,136 20,177 93,221

Fuel Cost ($) 14,905 20,193 22,199 18,136 22,195 97,628

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.05

MPG 3.24 3.03 2.91 2.84 2.93 2.99

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.259 0.406 0.367 0.352 0.375 0.351

Parts Cost ($) 5,682 17,910 21,439 10,629 8,451 64,112

Labor Cost ($) 5,372 8,931 9,718 8,853 9,787 42,662

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.192 0.539 0.516 0.378 0.309 0.384

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.451 0.945 0.883 0.730 0.684 0.734

Hubodometer 308,630 358,397 418,806 470,312 529,429

Bus 516

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 62,301 63,216 66,874 58,696 47,715 298,802

Roadcalls 2 4 1 1 3 11

Miles Between RCs 31,151 15,804 66,874 58,696 15,905 27,164

Fuel Amount 20,170 21,016 23,101 20,791 18,006 103,084

Fuel Cost ($) 16,943 25,850 24,718 20,791 19,807 108,108

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.05

MPG 3.09 3.01 2.89 2.82 2.65 2.90

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.272 0.409 0.370 0.354 0.415 0.362

Parts Cost ($) 4,705 12,870 10,737 8,311 9,075 45,698

Labor Cost ($) 5,861 6,762 8,023 8,294 11,049 39,989

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.170 0.311 0.281 0.283 0.422 0.287

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.442 0.719 0.650 0.637 0.837 0.649

Hubodometer 377,858 441,074 507,948 566,644 614,359

Bus 517

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 51,785 61,414 60,582 55,703 52,328 281,812

Roadcalls 5 2 2 7 2 18

Miles Between RCs 10,357 30,707 30,291 7,958 26,164 15,656

Fuel Amount 17,317 20,315 21,432 20,431 18,330 97,825

Fuel Cost ($) 14,546 24,987 22,932 20,431 20,163 103,060

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.05

MPG 2.99 3.02 2.83 2.73 2.85 2.88

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.281 0.407 0.379 0.367 0.385 0.366

Parts Cost ($) 9,761 8,739 20,902 10,179 7,204 56,784

Labor Cost ($) 7,194 9,369 8,774 9,242 8,625 43,204

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.327 0.295 0.490 0.349 0.303 0.355

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.608 0.702 0.868 0.715 0.688 0.721

Hubodometer 318,854 380,268 440,850 496,553 548,881

40
Bus 518

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 599 39,458 24,109 38,879 13,464 116,509

Roadcalls 0 11 1 11 1 24

Miles Between RCs 3,587 24,109 3,534 13,464 4,855

Fuel Amount 104 15,464 8,724 13,555 4,506 42,353

Fuel Cost ($) 87 19,021 9,335 13,555 4,957 46,954

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.11

MPG 5.76 2.55 2.76 2.87 2.99 2.75

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.146 0.482 0.387 0.349 0.368 0.403

Parts Cost ($) 9,105 13,306 11,111 13,437 2,653 49,610

Labor Cost ($) 8,261 8,710 6,685 9,480 5,086 38,222

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 28.992 0.558 0.738 0.589 0.575 0.754

Total Cost ($)/Mile 29.137 1.040 1.125 0.938 0.943 1.157

Hubodometer 259,747 299,205 323,314 362,193 375,657

Bus 520

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 58,909 56,348 63,399 58,336 51,406 288,398

Roadcalls 8 7 0 4 7 26

Miles Between RCs 7,364 8,050 14,584 7,344 11,092

Fuel Amount 18,553 17,485 21,558 19,949 19,438 96,983

Fuel Cost ($) 15,585 21,507 23,067 19,949 21,382 101,489

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.05

MPG 3.18 3.22 2.94 2.92 2.64 2.97

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.265 0.382 0.364 0.342 0.416 0.352

Parts Cost ($) 9,461 12,750 21,201 9,016 6,236 58,665

Labor Cost ($) 5,932 8,975 9,023 8,422 10,614 42,966

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.261 0.386 0.477 0.299 0.328 0.352

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.526 0.767 0.841 0.641 0.744 0.704

Hubodometer 299,792 356,140 419,539 477,875 529,281

Bus 521

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 60,623 61,104 55,154 59,821 28,440 265,142

Roadcalls 2 4 4 11 2 23

Miles Between RCs 30,312 15,276 13,789 5,438 14,220 11,528

Fuel Amount 18,767 19,753 18,377 20,823 11,272 88,992

Fuel Cost ($) 15,764 24,296 19,663 20,823 12,399 92,946

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.04

MPG 3.23 3.09 3.00 2.87 2.52 2.98

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.260 0.398 0.357 0.348 0.436 0.351

Parts Cost ($) 5,374 8,365 21,948 7,695 8,220 51,600

Labor Cost ($) 5,399 7,270 8,752 9,047 6,837 37,305

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.178 0.256 0.557 0.280 0.529 0.335

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.438 0.653 0.913 0.628 0.965 0.686

Hubodometer 326,477 387,581 442,735 502,556 530,996

41
Bus 522

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 56,083 57,693 58,967 56,610 53,761 283,114

Roadcalls 4 5 4 1 2 16

Miles Between RCs 14,021 11,539 14,742 56,610 26,881 17,695

Fuel Amount 18,143 18,330 20,963 18,851 18,949 95,236

Fuel Cost ($) 15,240 22,546 22,430 18,851 20,844 99,911

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.05

MPG 3.09 3.15 2.81 3.00 2.84 2.97

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.272 0.391 0.380 0.333 0.388 0.353

Parts Cost ($) 9,145 8,920 13,423 6,908 7,576 45,972

Labor Cost ($) 6,730 7,707 8,007 7,647 9,005 39,096

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.283 0.288 0.363 0.257 0.308 0.300

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.555 0.679 0.744 0.590 0.696 0.653

Hubodometer 296,630 354,323 413,290 469,900 523,661

Bus 523

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 52,818 58,102 55,381 53,407 53,830 273,538

Roadcalls 5 3 4 3 3 18

Miles Between RCs 10,564 19,367 13,845 17,802 17,943 15,197

Fuel Amount 17,726 18,850 19,904 18,163 19,668 94,311

Fuel Cost ($) 14,890 23,186 21,297 18,163 21,635 99,170

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.05

MPG 2.98 3.08 2.78 2.94 2.74 2.90

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.282 0.399 0.385 0.340 0.402 0.363

Parts Cost ($) 6,986 11,916 13,530 9,389 15,343 57,163

Labor Cost ($) 7,649 7,034 7,726 8,752 9,925 41,086

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.277 0.326 0.384 0.340 0.469 0.359

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.559 0.725 0.768 0.680 0.871 0.722

Hubodometer 174,570 232,672 288,053 341,460 395,290

Bus 524

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 49,762 61,991 45,068 60,520 50,339 267,680

Roadcalls 5 4 7 6 3 25

Miles Between RCs 9,952 15,498 6,438 10,087 16,780 10,707

Fuel Amount 16,399 19,704 15,502 20,042 17,040 88,687

Fuel Cost ($) 13,775 24,236 16,587 20,042 18,744 93,384

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.05

MPG 3.03 3.15 2.91 3.02 2.95 3.02

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.277 0.391 0.368 0.331 0.372 0.349

Parts Cost ($) 6,043 14,567 23,771 5,763 7,361 57,505

Labor Cost ($) 4,764 7,333 8,431 9,561 12,631 42,720

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.217 0.353 0.715 0.253 0.397 0.374

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.494 0.744 1.083 0.584 0.770 0.723

Hubodometer 324,864 386,855 431,923 492,443 542,782

42
Bus 525

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 57,069 66,363 58,789 57,119 51,990 291,330

Roadcalls 6 6 4 7 3 26

Miles Between RCs 9,512 11,061 14,697 8,160 17,330 11,205

Fuel Amount 18,579 20,218 19,841 20,607 19,364 98,609

Fuel Cost ($) 15,606 24,868 21,230 20,607 21,300 103,612

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.05

MPG 3.07 3.28 2.96 2.77 2.68 2.95

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.273 0.375 0.361 0.361 0.410 0.356

Parts Cost ($) 5,279 7,360 20,639 5,794 7,359 46,431

Labor Cost ($) 6,950 6,428 9,344 8,375 11,034 42,131

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.214 0.208 0.510 0.248 0.354 0.304

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.488 0.582 0.871 0.609 0.763 0.660

Hubodometer 342,189 408,552 467,341 524,460 576,450

Bus 526

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 53,408 61,403 60,863 42,604 33,683 251,961

Roadcalls 1 2 5 5 1 14

Miles Between RCs 53,408 30,702 12,173 8,521 33,683 17,997

Fuel Amount 17,479 19,269 20,376 14,905 12,176 84,205

Fuel Cost ($) 14,682 23,701 21,802 14,905 13,394 88,484

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.05

MPG 3.06 3.19 2.99 2.86 2.77 2.99

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.275 0.386 0.358 0.350 0.398 0.351

Parts Cost ($) 5,425 8,451 14,468 17,190 7,101 52,636

Labor Cost ($) 6,213 6,375 8,348 12,537 8,200 41,673

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.218 0.241 0.375 0.698 0.454 0.374

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.493 0.627 0.733 1.048 0.852 0.725

Hubodometer 323,935 385,338 446,201 488,805 522,488

Bus 527

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 55,111 58,027 62,095 55,310 51,094 281,637

Roadcalls 4 6 3 9 3 25

Miles Between RCs 13,778 9,671 20,698 6,146 17,031 11,265

Fuel Amount 18,300 18,488 21,545 19,129 17,956 95,418

Fuel Cost ($) 15,372 22,740 23,053 19,129 19,752 100,046

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.05

MPG 3.01 3.14 2.88 2.89 2.85 2.95

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.279 0.392 0.371 0.346 0.387 0.355

Parts Cost ($) 8,484 14,655 7,778 10,278 11,559 52,753

Labor Cost ($) 5,818 8,422 8,557 9,744 11,777 44,319

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.260 0.398 0.263 0.362 0.457 0.345

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.538 0.790 0.634 0.708 0.843 0.700

Hubodometer 331,886 389,913 452,008 507,318 558,412

43
Bus 528

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 51,164 59,094 62,241 53,662 42,549 268,710

Roadcalls 4 7 3 1 2 17

Miles Between RCs 12,791 8,442 20,747 53,662 21,275 15,806

Fuel Amount 17,858 19,357 21,503 17,935 15,440 92,093

Fuel Cost ($) 15,001 23,809 23,008 17,935 16,984 96,737

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.05

MPG 2.87 3.05 2.89 2.99 2.76 2.92

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.293 0.403 0.370 0.334 0.399 0.360

Parts Cost ($) 10,150 9,281 10,236 17,228 9,252 56,148

Labor Cost ($) 6,250 7,265 8,918 9,330 10,312 42,076

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.321 0.280 0.308 0.495 0.460 0.366

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.614 0.683 0.677 0.829 0.859 0.726

Hubodometer 344,840 403,934 466,175 519,837 562,386

Bus 529

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 44,633 59,500 56,926 36,580 51,985 249,624

Roadcalls 2 8 0 2 9 21

Miles Between RCs 22,317 7,438 18,290 5,776 11,887

Fuel Amount 14,877 20,153 19,955 12,894 18,634 86,513

Fuel Cost ($) 12,497 24,788 21,352 12,894 20,497 92,028

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.06

MPG 3.00 2.95 2.85 2.84 2.79 2.89

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.280 0.417 0.375 0.352 0.394 0.369

Parts Cost ($) 5,677 13,173 22,326 6,537 33,673 81,386

Labor Cost ($) 5,855 7,653 8,069 12,479 12,171 46,228

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.258 0.350 0.534 0.520 0.882 0.511

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.538 0.767 0.909 0.872 1.276 0.880

Hubodometer 321,665 381,165 438,091 474,671 526,656

Bus 530

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 47,517 59,045 54,067 52,999 56,011 269,639

Roadcalls 9 6 2 4 2 23

Miles Between RCs 5,280 9,841 27,034 13,250 28,006 11,723

Fuel Amount 15,854 18,804 19,447 18,104 19,231 91,440

Fuel Cost ($) 13,317 23,129 20,808 18,104 21,154 96,513

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.06

MPG 3.00 3.14 2.78 2.93 2.91 2.95

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.280 0.392 0.385 0.342 0.378 0.358

Parts Cost ($) 7,672 10,659 9,607 9,302 8,759 45,999

Labor Cost ($) 6,675 6,485 7,982 10,308 9,845 41,295

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.302 0.290 0.325 0.370 0.332 0.324

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.582 0.682 0.710 0.712 0.710 0.682

Hubodometer 333,235 392,280 446,347 499,346 555,357

44
Bus 531

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 38,645 45,674 45,008 80,328 63,811 273,466

Roadcalls 9 8 4 8 4 33

Miles Between RCs 4,294 5,709 11,252 10,041 15,953 8,287

Fuel Amount 14,164 18,586 17,485 24,861 20,923 96,019

Fuel Cost ($) 11,898 22,861 18,709 24,861 23,015 101,344

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.06

MPG 2.73 2.46 2.57 3.23 3.05 2.85

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.308 0.501 0.416 0.309 0.361 0.371

Parts Cost ($) 8,054 13,900 12,517 10,295 6,791 51,557

Labor Cost ($) 6,670 10,188 9,776 10,893 15,545 53,073

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.381 0.527 0.495 0.264 0.350 0.383

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.689 1.028 0.911 0.573 0.711 0.753

Hubodometer 155,927 201,601 246,609 326,937 390,748

Bus 532

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 34,381 34,356 37,326 28,521 33,856 168,440

Roadcalls 14 7 3 3 17 44

Miles Between RCs 2,456 4,908 12,442 9,507 1,992 3,828

Fuel Amount 12,807 12,944 15,689 11,449 11,906 64,795

Fuel Cost ($) 10,758 15,921 16,787 11,449 13,097 68,012

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.05

MPG 2.68 2.65 2.38 2.49 2.84 2.60

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.313 0.463 0.450 0.401 0.387 0.404

Parts Cost ($) 8,250 10,345 13,651 14,232 13,428 59,907

Labor Cost ($) 7,158 8,298 8,572 9,099 13,297 46,423

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.448 0.543 0.595 0.818 0.789 0.631

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.761 1.006 1.045 1.219 1.176 1.035

Hubodometer 270,826 305,182 342,508 371,029 404,885

Bus 533

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 55,226 56,843 58,334 52,064 51,432 273,899

Roadcalls 0 3 7 3 6 19

Miles Between RCs 18,948 8,333 17,355 8,572 14,416

Fuel Amount 18,383 19,778 20,839 18,851 18,577 96,428

Fuel Cost ($) 15,442 24,327 22,298 18,851 20,435 101,352

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.05

MPG 3.00 2.87 2.80 2.76 2.77 2.84

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.280 0.428 0.382 0.362 0.397 0.370

Parts Cost ($) 8,218 10,110 19,049 6,719 28,458 72,555

Labor Cost ($) 5,221 6,588 9,773 7,807 10,324 39,713

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.243 0.294 0.494 0.279 0.754 0.410

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.523 0.722 0.876 0.641 1.151 0.780

Hubodometer 337,591 394,434 452,768 504,832 556,264

45
Bus 534

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 45,303 50,610 54,182 51,208 50,878 252,181

Roadcalls 1 4 2 5 2 14

Miles Between RCs 45,303 12,653 27,091 10,242 25,439 18,013

Fuel Amount 14,897 17,323 18,475 17,458 17,931 86,084

Fuel Cost ($) 12,513 21,307 19,768 17,458 19,724 90,771

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.05

MPG 3.04 2.92 2.93 2.93 2.84 2.93

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.276 0.421 0.365 0.341 0.388 0.360

Parts Cost ($) 3,825 9,256 7,147 5,155 6,841 32,224

Labor Cost ($) 4,893 6,593 6,730 6,591 9,447 34,254

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.192 0.313 0.256 0.229 0.320 0.264

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.469 0.734 0.621 0.570 0.708 0.624

Hubodometer 100,799 151,409 205,591 256,799 307,677

Bus 535

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 54,333 57,455 59,088 48,940 43,615 263,431

Roadcalls 2 2 3 3 6 16

Miles Between RCs 27,167 28,728 19,696 16,313 7,269 16,464

Fuel Amount 17,187 18,567 20,144 17,713 17,138 90,749

Fuel Cost ($) 14,437 22,837 21,554 17,713 18,852 95,393

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.05

MPG 3.16 3.09 2.93 2.76 2.54 2.90

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.266 0.397 0.365 0.362 0.432 0.362

Parts Cost ($) 5,705 11,621 13,650 10,969 8,718 50,663

Labor Cost ($) 5,575 6,403 7,257 9,553 12,155 40,942

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.208 0.314 0.354 0.419 0.479 0.348

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.473 0.711 0.719 0.781 0.911 0.710

Hubodometer 297,823 355,278 414,366 463,306 506,921

Bus 601

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 34,800 39,143 33,761 25,471 36,829 170,004

Roadcalls 3 2 3 4 5 17

Miles Between RCs 11,600 19,572 11,254 6,368 7,366 10,000

Fuel Amount 6,853 8,195 6,849 5,155 7,865 34,917

Fuel Cost ($) 5,757 10,080 7,328 5,155 8,652 36,971

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.06

MPG 5.08 4.78 4.93 4.94 4.68 4.87

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.165 0.258 0.217 0.202 0.235 0.217

Parts Cost ($) 2,337 2,701 7,097 5,153 7,163 24,450

Labor Cost ($) 3,430 2,637 5,514 8,042 7,937 27,560

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.166 0.136 0.374 0.518 0.410 0.306

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.331 0.394 0.591 0.720 0.645 0.523

Hubodometer 147,710 186,853 220,614 246,085 282,914

46
Bus 602

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 33,120 34,022 40,908 41,011 43,609 192,670

Roadcalls 4 2 2 4 5 17

Miles Between RCs 8,280 17,011 20,454 10,253 8,722 11,334

Fuel Amount 6,125 7,014 7,448 7,720 8,100 36,407

Fuel Cost ($) 5,145 8,627 7,969 7,720 8,910 38,372

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.05

MPG 5.41 4.85 5.49 5.31 5.38 5.29

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.155 0.254 0.195 0.188 0.204 0.199

Parts Cost ($) 5,366 3,171 5,129 1,849 4,214 19,728

Labor Cost ($) 4,205 3,833 4,540 4,371 7,182 24,131

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.289 0.206 0.236 0.152 0.261 0.228

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.444 0.459 0.431 0.340 0.466 0.427

Hubodometer 188,106 222,128 263,036 304,047 347,656

Bus 603

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 21,281 24,668 0 41,320 300 87,569

Roadcalls 3 14 0 12 0 29

Miles Between RCs 7,094 1,762 3,443 3,020

Fuel Amount 3,735 4,714 0 8,896 100 17,445

Fuel Cost ($) 3,137 5,798 0 8,896 110 17,942

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.03

MPG 5.70 5.23 4.64 3.00 5.02

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.147 0.235 0.215 0.367 0.205

Parts Cost ($) 2,887 3,533 0 12,016 354 18,791

Labor Cost ($) 3,097 3,284 0 9,523 523 16,428

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.281 0.276 0.521 2.92 0.402

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.429 0.511 0.737 3.290 0.607

Hubodometer 127,174 151,842 151,842 193,162 193,462

Bus 604

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 25,095 22,309 23,444 35,278 43,128 149,254

Roadcalls 6 3 3 4 1 17

Miles Between RCs 4,183 7,436 7,815 8,820 43,128 8,780

Fuel Amount 4,720 4,687 4,993 6,760 8,245 29,405

Fuel Cost ($) 3,965 5,765 5,343 6,760 9,070 30,902

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.05

MPG 5.32 4.76 4.70 5.22 5.23 5.08

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.158 0.258 0.228 0.192 0.210 0.207

Parts Cost ($) 4,139 6,132 4,180 3,371 4,021 21,844

Labor Cost ($) 4,283 3,567 2,911 5,555 9,015 25,331

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.336 0.435 0.302 0.253 0.302 0.316

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.494 0.693 0.530 0.445 0.513 0.523

Hubodometer 103,885 126,194 149,638 184,916 228,044

47
Bus 605

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 5,359 25 8,286 48,841 62,511

Roadcalls 0 0 1 6 7

Miles Between RCs 8,286 8,140 8,930

Fuel Amount 329 14 1,747 9,379 11,469

Fuel Cost ($) 0 405 15 1,747 10,317 12,484

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.09

MPG 16.29 1.79 4.74 5.21 5.45

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.076 0.599 0.211 0.211 0.200

Parts Cost ($) 2,078 1,845 5,066 5,054 14,043

Labor Cost ($) 2,024 3,383 4,958 7,441 17,805

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.765 209 1.210 0.256 0.509

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.841 210 1.421 0.467 0.709

Hubodometer 88,275 88,300 96,586 145,427

Bus 801

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 2,409 10,627 14,595 20,051 30,000 77,682

Roadcalls 0 3 6 3 2 14

Miles Between RCs 3,542 2,433 6,684 15,000 5,549

Fuel Amount 750 2,978 3,580 5,487 421 13,216

Fuel Cost ($) 630 3,663 3,831 5,487 463 14,074

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.06

MPG 3.21 3.57 4.08 3.65 71 5.88

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.262 0.345 0.262 0.274 0.015 0.181

Parts Cost ($) 1,779 4,143 3,063 2,795 4,483 16,263

Labor Cost ($) 2,383 2,421 2,140 3,910 10,390 21,243

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 1.728 0.618 0.356 0.334 0.496 0.483

Total Cost ($)/Mile 1.989 0.962 0.619 0.608 0.511 0.664

Hubodometer 53,068 63,695 78,290 98,341 128,341

Bus 802

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 12,096 11,422 10,283 5,674 39,747 79,222

Roadcalls 0 0 4 4 7 15

Miles Between RCs 2,571 1,419 5,678 5,281

Fuel Amount 3,262 3,243 3,116 1,707 11,860 23,188

Fuel Cost ($) 2,740 3,989 3,334 1,707 13,046 24,816

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.07

MPG 3.71 3.52 3.30 3.32 3.35 3.42

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.227 0.349 0.324 0.301 0.328 0.313

Parts Cost ($) 478 2,233 1,356 3,935 7,348 15,350

Labor Cost ($) 1,871 2,591 1,893 2,505 11,201 20,061

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.194 0.422 0.316 1.135 0.467 0.447

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.421 0.772 0.640 1.436 0.795 0.760

Hubodometer 59,533 70,955 81,238 86,912 126,659

48
Bus 803

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 9,067 8,125 15,303 5,926 26,649 65,070

Roadcalls 1 0 5 1 11 18

Miles Between RCs 9,067 3,061 5,926 2,423 3,615

Fuel Amount 2,629 2,554 4,193 1,783 469 11,628

Fuel Cost ($) 2,208 3,141 4,487 1,783 516 12,135

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.04

MPG 3.45 3.18 3.65 3.32 57 5.60

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.244 0.387 0.293 0.301 0.019 0.186

Parts Cost ($) 2,968 2,957 4,370 2,423 6,416 19,135

Labor Cost ($) 2,378 2,058 2,423 3,465 11,507 21,832

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.590 0.617 0.444 0.994 0.673 0.630

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.833 1.004 0.737 1.295 0.692 0.816

Hubodometer 41,306 49,431 64,734 70,660 97,309

Bus 804

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 11,573 11,110 12,756 11,572 35,986 82,997

Roadcalls 5 3 2 2 4 16

Miles Between RCs 2,315 3,703 6,378 5,786 8,997 5,187

Fuel Amount 2,932 3,239 3,442 3,311 9,531 22,455

Fuel Cost ($) 2,463 3,984 3,683 3,311 10,484 23,925

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.07

MPG 3.95 3.43 3.71 3.50 3.78 3.70

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.213 0.359 0.289 0.286 0.291 0.288

Parts Cost ($) 2,375 1,973 3,687 2,774 4,469 15,278

Labor Cost ($) 2,710 1,738 2,992 3,774 9,949 21,163

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.439 0.334 0.524 0.566 0.401 0.439

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.652 0.693 0.812 0.852 0.692 0.727

Hubodometer 34,002 45,112 57,868 69,440 105,426

Bus 805

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 11,081 8,000 11,022 18,499 5,270 53,872

Roadcalls 3 1 5 0 0 9

Miles Between RCs 3,694 8,000 2,204 5,986

Fuel Amount 2,938 2,402 3,018 5,016 1,851 15,225

Fuel Cost ($) 2,468 2,954 3,229 5,016 2,036 15,704

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.03

MPG 3.77 3.33 3.65 3.69 2.85 3.54

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.223 0.369 0.293 0.271 0.386 0.292

Parts Cost ($) 876 1,945 2,860 2,236 1,880 9,797

Labor Cost ($) 2,687 1,884 2,781 3,245 2,200 12,798

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.322 0.479 0.512 0.296 0.774 0.419

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.544 0.848 0.805 0.567 1.161 0.711

Hubodometer 60,983 68,983 80,005 98,504 103,774

49
Bus 806

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 10,802 6,265 7,247 15,043 4,999 44,356

Roadcalls 1 1 0 1 1 4

Miles Between RCs 10,802 6,265 15,043 4,999 11,089

Fuel Amount 2,875 1,908 2,124 3,926 1,631 12,464

Fuel Cost ($) 2,415 2,347 2,273 3,926 1,794 12,755

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.02

MPG 3.76 3.28 3.41 3.83 3.06 3.56

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.224 0.375 0.314 0.261 0.359 0.288

Parts Cost ($) 745 1,006 3,179 3,483 780 9,194

Labor Cost ($) 2,112 1,904 1,847 4,283 1,875 12,020

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.265 0.464 0.694 0.516 0.531 0.478

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.488 0.839 1.007 0.777 0.890 0.766

Hubodometer 42,399 48,664 55,911 70,954 75,953

Bus 807

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 10,184 8,719 15,499 15,635 10,335 60,372

Roadcalls 1 1 4 9 5 20

Miles Between RCs 10,184 8,719 3,875 1,737 2,067 3,019

Fuel Amount 2,677 2,620 4,091 4,485 3,173 17,046

Fuel Cost ($) 2,249 3,223 4,377 4,485 3,490 17,824

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 1.05

MPG 3.80 3.33 3.79 3.49 3.26 3.54

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.221 0.370 0.282 0.287 0.338 0.295

Parts Cost ($) 613 1,636 1,970 2,121 1,590 7,930

Labor Cost ($) 2,409 1,836 3,175 4,135 2,768 14,324

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.297 0.398 0.332 0.400 0.422 0.369

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.518 0.768 0.614 0.687 0.759 0.664

Hubodometer 65,547 74,266 89,765 105,400 115,735

Bus 1477

Data Item FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 Total

Mileage 6,240 6,240

Roadcalls 0 0

Miles Between RCs

Fuel Amount 1,696 1,696

Fuel Cost ($) 1,425 0 0 0 0 1,425

Fuel Cost ($)/Gal 0.84 1.23 1.07 1.00 1.10 0.84

MPG 3.68 3.68

Fuel Cost ($)/Mile 0.228 0.228

Parts Cost ($) 943 943

Labor Cost ($) 1,472 1,472

Maintenance Cost ($)/Mile 0.387 0.387

Total Cost ($)/Mile 0.615 0.615

Hubodometer 21,737

50
F1146-E(12/2004) 

REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved 

OMB No. 0704-0188

The public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, 

gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this 

collection of information, including suggestions for reducing the burden, to Department of Defense, Executive Services and Communications Directorate (0704-0188). Respondents 

should be aware that notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if it does not display a 

currently valid OMB control number. 

PLEASE DO NOT RETURN YOUR FORM TO THE ABOVE ORGANIZATION.

1. REPORT DATE (DD-MM-YYYY)

January 2006 

2. REPORT TYPE

Subcontract Report 

3. DATES COVERED (From - To)

April 2003 – December 2004 

5a. CONTRACT NUMBER

DE-AC36-99-GO10337 

5b. GRANT NUMBER

4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE

Ten Years of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) at SunLine Transit: 

April 2003 – December 2004 

5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER

5d. PROJECT NUMBER

NREL/SR-540-39180 

5e. TASK NUMBER

FC05.9000 

6. AUTHOR(S)

K. Chandler 

5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER

7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES)

Battelle 

505 King Avenue, 

Columbus, Ohio 43201 

8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION 

REPORT NUMBER

KXAF-9-29764-19 

10. SPONSOR/MONITOR'S ACRONYM(S)

NREL 

9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES)

National Renewable Energy Laboratory 

1617 Cole Blvd. 

Golden, CO 80401-3393 11. SPONSORING/MONITORING 

AGENCY REPORT NUMBER

NREL/SR-540-39180 

12. DISTRIBUTION AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

National Technical Information Service 

U.S. Department of Commerce 

5285 Port Royal Road 

Springfield, VA 22161 

13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

NREL Technical Monitor: Richard Parish 

14. ABSTRACT (Maximum 200 Words)

This report focuses on the lessons learned at the SunLine Transit Agency after it converted in 1994 its entire 

operating transit bus fleet to compressed natural gas (CNG). 

15. SUBJECT TERMS

compressed natural gas; CNG; SunLine Transit Agency; transit buses; bus fleet; transit operations 

16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 19a. NAME OF RESPONSIBLE PERSON 

a. REPORT 

Unclassified 

b. ABSTRACT 

Unclassified

c. THIS PAGE 

Unclassified

17. LIMITATION 

OF ABSTRACT

UL 

18. NUMBER 

OF PAGES 

19b. TELEPHONE NUMBER (Include area code)

Standard Form 298 (Rev. 8/98) 

Prescribed by ANSI Std. Z39.18