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FuelRTME
NT OF
EN
Transit Buses
A
ER
DEP
GY
I CA
U N IT
ER
ED
ST A
AT E S OF
35th St.
Colucci Pkwy.
Craig Ave.
DART’s 989 buses and vans include 141 natural gas transit buses.
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DART’S LNG BUS FLEET
A
“One point should be made clear,” says DART’s
Maintenance Vice President Mike Hubbell. “We are
Current DART Operations
■ Serves Dallas, Texas,
not canceling our commitment to natural gas. We and 12 suburban
cities
have imposed a moratorium on purchasing addi-
■ 130 local and express
tional LNG buses. We have 141 natural-gas buses routes
in our fleet–139 LNG buses and two older CNG ■ 989 buses and vans
■ 20 CNG trolleys
The issues Hubbell refers to have haunted based on how DART dispatches buses. DART’s that one of the tanks would get “hot” and have
the DART LNG program, says Darryl Spencer, buses need a range of 380 miles minimum higher pressure than the others. This would
Fleet Systems Engineer. “The program has faced (DART’s target was 400 miles). DART dispatches cause two of the tanks to get refilled during
difficulties, both in reality and in perception,” most buses on two runs during a standard oper- fueling, but not the third “hot” tank. The fueler
Spencer said. “A negative cloud seems to hang ating day, with no refueling. Refueling in the needs to rely on the fuel gauge for the LNG,
over the program.” Darryl Parham, Senior middle of the day would be expensive for DART. Parham says, and the gauge was not always
Manager of Bus Services, ticks off the difficulties DART’s strategy for overcoming this problem accurate. Fuel gauge inaccuracy resulted in
with a sigh: range, mileage, reliability. Fueling was to add a fourth LNG tank to the buses. The unfilled tanks, and that led to road calls for
problems, particularly with fuel hose nozzles, most recent fuel economy test showed that the out-of-fuel buses.
also are industry-wide issues. DART has experi- four-tank system has a range of 380 miles. The The impact of a road call can go beyond
enced problems with parts availability as well. first buses in the fleet were retrofitted with the the obvious operational interruption. One DART
Less-than-expected fuel economy con- fourth tank, and the remaining buses were fitted bus driver noted that although customers often
tributes to DART’s problems with the range with the tank at the factory before delivery do not really know or care about the kind of fuel
capability of the LNG buses. The fuel economy to Dallas. the buses are using, “they do start to draw their
is approximately 1.6 mpg. Nearly 2.5 mpg A second contributor to the range was own conclusions when they see another one of
would be required to meet DART’s range difficulty in fully fueling the buses. To get the those new buses down on the side of the road,”
requirement. However, 1.6 mpg for the LNG desired maximum range from a bus, DART needs he said. Reliability is the key operational issue,
engine is the industry average for the rough to ensure that each bus is filled completely with according to Rocky Rogers, DART’s Assistant
transit duty cycle, which is nearly 50% idle time fuel before it begins its route. Getting the full Vice President of Technical Services, and the
and very low average speed. This fuel economy fill has been difficult with the on-board LNG impact is significant. If reliability issues lead to
puts extreme pressure on the vehicle range tanks. The problem, as Parham describes it, is reduced ridership, then that means more
3
DART’S LNG BUS FLEET
PIX 07850
Two 30,000-gallon
tanks supply LNG
to the fueling island
through above-
ground insulated
piping, which runs
under the canopy.
PIX 09177
Lone Star’s
computerized
monitoring system
provides fuelers
with real-time
information for
troubleshooting.
PIX 09179
PIX 09178
PIX 09180
DART installed fuel indicators on This docking station stores the LNG nozzles when not
board the buses to monitor LNG in use and serves as pre-cool circuit for the station.
levels and ensure a full fill. The liquid fill nozzle supplies 50 gpm.
vehicles on the road, and that means more Although the station is operating effectively, incorporate a breakaway feature, which is
emissions, says Rogers. “And the biggest DART faced start-up issues with it also. The LNG common for diesel fuel hoses. If a driver pulls
benefit we can provide to the community is fueling facility requires a minimum number of away with a diesel hose attached, the hose simply
getting people out of cars and into buses.” buses to be fueled daily to keep the storage tank breaks away from the dispenser, which minmizes
DART has alleviated the “hot” tank pressures low enough to prevent venting of natur- damage to the bus and the dispenser. A driveaway
scenario by installing fuel gauges on the individ- al gas. The amount of piping used in the facility is a driver error, not a technology problem, but
ual tanks. Fuelers are now able to monitor also created problems with the cooldown cycle. technology has reduced the impact of this human
“hot” tank conditions. A “hot” tank does not Lone Star solved the fuel facility problem with an performance issue for diesel fueling.
receive fuel, and when the fuelers see this, they advanced, computerized system that allows the DART is considering adding a switch that
can begin the fueling process again. fuelers to monitor the cooldown cycle. removes the ability to start the bus if the fuel
In March 1998, DART commissioned Lone DART has also experienced a problem with door is open, thus keeping the bus from pulling
Star Energy to develop an LNG fueling station at the fuel hose nozzles. Mating the LNG fuel hose away from the fueling island with a fuel hose
the Northwest Bus Operations. The fueling facil- to the bus sometimes allows leakage around the attached. However, this feature presents potential
ity consists of two 30,000-gallon storage tanks; nozzle during fueling, which causes ice to form for vandalism, so it is essential that opening the
three 60-gpm, 110-psig pumps; and three LNG on the seal. The ice formation compounds the fuel door should not shut off the engine.
dispensers. Each of the three fuel lanes has an problem, damaging the seal and increasing the Other issues, such as out-of-calibration
LNG and a diesel dispenser. Lone Star is amount of time for fueling. Additionally, the methane sensors used to detect fuel leaks, have
responsible for both the station and the fuel. nozzles used on the LNG fuel hoses do not presented challenges for the maintenance
4
DART’S LNG BUS FLEET
5
DART’S LNG BUS FLEET
The industry needs to hear about DART’s LNG-fueled vehicles in its fleet. The primary issue cations and accurate information underlies many
experience. “We need to work with industry rep- of range has been resolved with the fourth LNG of the lessons voiced at DART.
resentatives to resolve the issues associated with tank. However, this was not an issue of poor Although the start-up may be rough, Rogers
natural gas in large-scale heavy duty opera- technology. The other known issues—low fuel emphasizes that if a site intends to use alterna-
tions,” said Hubbell. “It is particularly impor- economy, fuel nozzle leak, fuel gauge inaccuracy, tive fuels, investment and commitment are the
tant to look at the context of the operation. Reli- parts availability, contractor-dependent system keys to success. “You have to make enough of an
ability, range, and economics are issues.” The maintenance, and breakaway fuel hose connec- investment to make it work and enough of a
DART program has successfully implemented a tion—are manageable now that they are identified. commitment to resolve problems. If you have
significant number of alternative fuel buses. It As Hubbell has pointed out, the industry only a few buses and you have a problem or hit
has not been a particularly smooth process, but can learn from this program, and the primary an obstacle, you just park the buses. When you
the program is operating. “You have to be lesson may well be the need for these systems have a large number, you cannot just park them.
patient,” said Spencer. “The lesson is being to fully integrate. The need for strong communi- You have to resolve the problems.”
patient with the whole fleet and looking at the
overall successes. Yes, there are problems, as STATUS: As of June 2000, nearly all the problems with the LNG buses reported here have been resolved
would be expected with new technology such as through the lessons learned from start-up. The LNG buses have been operating on nearly all routes at the
LNG. But the buses are making pull out.” Northwest facility except for a few very long routes. The only remaining issues are to finish optimizing the power
What emerges clearly from this program train to increase the fuel economy on the LNG buses and to resolve a problem of premature head failures in the
is a need to integrate fully the systems required
engine. Cummins is pursuing a resolution to the engine problem.
to make the program work. Independently,
each element has succeeded in the industry: DART released its latest request for proposal with a requirement to bid an order of 160 buses as all diesel or all
Cummins engine, MVE tanks, Nova BUS LNG. The response to this request is not complete without the LNG bid.
chassis, Lone Star Energy fueling station, and
DART’s daily operations. DART is using the
This report highlights the start-up experience of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit in Dallas, Texas. After collecting 12 months of data from the site, NREL and
Battelle, NREL’s support contractor for the project, will prepare a formal report and analysis. If you want to know more about this transit bus program, its
components, alternative fuel vehicles, or incentive programs, contact any of the following:
Vice President, Maintenance Asst. Vice President Fleet Systems Engineer Senior Project Engineer Project Manager
4209 Main Street Technical Services P.O. Box 660163 1617 Cole Blvd. 505 King Avenue
Dallas, Texas 75266-7258 4209 Main Street Dallas, Texas 75266-7258 Golden, Colorado 80401 Columbus, Ohio 43201
214/828-6721
Lone Star Energy Company Cummins Southern Plains, Inc. Nova BUS Chart-Applied Technologies
Stanley T. Taylor Jason Ruble Dan Moats George Laux
Manager, Engineering & Construction Regional Sales Manager Engineering Project Manager Senior Account Representative
300 South St. Paul Street 600 N. Watson Road 42 Earl Cummings Loop West P.O. Box 12066
Suite 750 EC P.O. Box 90027 P.O. Box 5670 (R.I.A.C.) Spring, TX 77391
For more information and for copies of program reports, visit the Alternative Fuels Data Center on the World Wide Web at http://www.afdc.doe.gov,
or call the Alternative Fuels Hotline at 1-800-423-1DOE.
Published by the Center for Transportation Technologies and Systems at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a DOE national laboratory.
NREL/BR-540-28124
June 2000
1617 Cole Blvd.
Golden, CO 80401-3393
Printed with a renewable-source ink on paper containing at least 50% wastepaper, including 20% postconsumer waste.
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