Cool Springs Multimodal Transportation Study JUN_2015_Final Cool_Springs_Report | Page 26

Vehicle Choice
To differentiate the service from TODD service and create a new “brand” for Franklin Transit, thirty- foot buses
should be used on all local service serving the Cool Springs area, with express service continuing to use the
current over-the-road coaches. These buses should be equipped with AVL/next-bus capability, and steps should
be made to make that information available to the public.
It is anticipated that express service will also continue to be contracted out, while local service will remain
operated by The TMA Group for Franklin Transit. Four types of propulsion systems are common to bus fleets in
North America: Compressed natural gas, electric, hybrid, and diesel. Table 4 shows the cost comparison of the
different types of vehicles, using the Arterial Option as an example.
Table 4: Bus Type Costs Comparison
Capital Cost Annual Fuel
Cost 1 Annual
Maintenance
Cost 2 CNG $3.2 M $ 86,000 $84,000 $3.1 M $170,000
Hybrid $4.0 M $103,000 $47,000 $3.8 M $150,000
Electric $7.0 M $ 9,000 $67,000 $7.1 M $ 76,000
Diesel $2.7 M $136,000 $67,000 $2.8 M $203,000
Propulsion Type
1 7 buses are needed for operations in th e Cool Springs area for the arterial option
2 Includes gasoline gallon equivalent costs
Total Initial
Cost
Total
Subsequent
Annual Cost
If the total capital cost is funded by Franklin Transit,
within 10 years the CNG option would equal the diesel
option; 17 years for the hybrid option; and the electric
option would likely not pay for itself within the
lifespan of the bus. However, in most cases grants are
available to at least partially pay for alternative fuel
transit vehicles, making these options much more
cost competitive.
Switching over to thirty-foot buses, even if they
are not alternatively fueled, may necessitate the
building of a local maintenance facility, especially
if the increase in equipment makes it cost
prohibitive to continue to send out vehicles to the
Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA)
for maintenance. This possible cost increase is not
reflected in the capital costs.
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Bus Running on Natural Gas
Cool Springs | Multimodal Transportation Network Study