Hybrid bus now on a route near you
Metro's prototype hybrid diesel-electric bus was tested on Route 41 last week.
Bus No. 2599 – Metro Transit's experimental hybrid diesel-electric bus – is earning the nickname "Energizer Bunny," as it continues making its rounds over and over again along King County bus routes.
Since early October, Metro has been testing, poking, prodding, and peering into the guts of the bus to see if this kind of hybrid would make a good replacement for the fleet of aging buses currently serving the downtown transit tunnel.
“We just finished a 90-day stress test on Coach 2599, during which we accumulated more than a year's worth of mileage (37,600 miles) with containers of water that equaled the weight of a full, standing load of passengers (11,000 lbs.),” said Todd Gibbs, hybrid bus project manager. “So far, the bus has performed remarkably well.”
More than a dozen transit operators were used to drive the hybrid 20 hours a day, seven days a week in simulated service, including trips through the bus tunnel. The remaining four hours each day were used by the maintenance staff at Metro’s Central Base for fueling, repairs and scheduled maintenance.
For the past two weeks, Metro has put Coach 2599 into regular service to see how it handles people rather than tubs of water. During the first two weeks of March, it served on Route 71 and 41. This week, it will carry passengers on Route 101 between Seattle and Renton. Then, the road tests finish up next week with service on Route 255 on the Eastside.
“The passengers we’ve surveyed really seem to like it,” said Jim Boon, Metro’s manager of vehicle maintenance. “They are noticing the low-floor entry, and how clean and quiet the bus is.”
Boon and Gibbs say the reaction from bus drivers and mechanics is also positive.
“The operators have expressed their pleasure in its performance, and the staff at Central Base is amazed at how little maintenance the bus has required,” said Gibbs.
The big bus works much like the small hybrid cars that are becoming popular. In the bus, electricity is generated by a computer-managed diesel engine. That electricity is stored for future use, and can reduce fuel consumption by 20 to 40 percent. The hybrid bus is also extremely clean when it does burn the ultra low-sulfur diesel that Metro uses in all its vehicles. Carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons are reduced by as much as 99 percent when this fuel is used.
During the first testing phase, only three problems cropped up that kept the bus from maintaining its 400-plus mile-per-day average. Two were unrelated to 2599's hybrid technology, and the third was easily repaired with a simple replacement part.
Boon said that when the road testing with passengers ends in March, 2599 will undergo even more intense scrutiny. The bus will be disassembled so the drive system can be thoroughly inspected by staff from Metro and Allison Transmission, the manufacturers of the drive system.
“No bus like this has ever been under this kind of duty before,” said Boon. “We want to see how all the internal parts are holding up.”
He said if everything looks okay, the bus will be reassembled and put back on the road.
Metro is in the market for more than 200 hybrid buses and hopes to award a contract in late August. The made-to-order hybrid fleet would then begin arriving at Metro sometime in the spring of 2004.
New airport manager
A 20-year veteran of the aviation industry was chosen last week to become the new manager of King County International Airport (KCIA) at Boeing Field. Bob Burke, has experience as an airport manager at commercial airports, military facilities and general aviation airports such as KCIA. He is also a former flight instructor and charter pilot, and spent 20 years in the United States Marine Corps.
No wrasslin’, no hasslin’ – shuttle to the big show
Metro Transit are teaming up with the promoters of Wrestle Mania to provide special shuttle service to the professional wrestling show at Safeco Field on Sunday, March 30.
In addition to the regular Metro and Sound Transit routes that serve the area near Safeco, Metro will also provide shuttles before and after the show from 12 park and ride locations, including: Eastgate; Federal Way; Kent; Kent-Des Moines; Mercer Island; Northgate; South Bellevue; Northgate Transit Center; South Kirkland; South Renton; Star Lake; and Tukwila.
There will be a $2.50 one-way, cash-only fare for rides on Metro's Wrestle Mania Shuttle service. Passes and transfers will not be accepted. For the complete details about transit service to this event, visit Metro Online.
Five stars for Fleet
The King County Department of Transportation’s Fleet Administration Division was recently awarded a 5-Star rating in the Envirostar program. Fleet Administration’s Renton vehicle maintenance and stores facility was certified as a 5-Star operation by the Department of Natural Resources and Parks. The certification is part of the Envirostar Program, with five stars being the highest level of recognition. It is granted to businesses and agencies that are: “proactive leaders in preventing waste and spreading an ethic of environmental responsibility.”
Road closure on Vashon Island
Starting today, the King County Road Services Division will close a section of Quartermaster Drive on Vashon Island for three weeks to repair the adjacent seawall. The roadway will be closed to through traffic until Monday, April 7 between Monument Drive and Portage Way. A detour route via Dockton Road Southwest and Ellisport Road will be clearly marked.
The seawall has suffered storm damage along that stretch of Quartermaster Drive, and the county will be rebuilding and repairing approximately 300 feet of the seawall during the closure.
Metro Online wins ‘Web site of the Week’ honors
A national trade publication named King County’s Metro Online as its Web site of the week for Feb. 28, 2003.
METRO Magazine, is a publication focusing on public transportation. Magazine staff applauded Metro Transit’s online options for planning transit trips, buying bus passes and linking up with rideshare partners.
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