OCEAN CITY – With the state no longer lending them out, Ocean City is weighing its different bus options for this summer.
Last week the Transportation Commission met to discuss future purchases of buses to add to Ocean City’s fleet.
In the past, the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) would loan the Town of Ocean City six to 10 articulating (known commonly as artics) buses to supplement the town’s fleet in the busy summer months. However, the program ended at the end of the 2010 season after the MTA re-evaluated routes and decided it needed the artics in the city year-round.
“We are faced with the reality that the program run by the state for artics will no longer be available. We may want to start rethinking the breakdown of the overall fleet. Would it make sense purchasing artics moving forward where we could continue to borrow 40 footers at will from the MTA, and eventually end up with a mixed fleet of 40-foot buses, a few artics, and maybe a few smaller than 40 footers for the dead of winter service?,” Ocean City Public Works Director Hal Adkins said.
In Fiscal Year 2014 (FY 14), the Town of Ocean City was awarded a grant in the amount of $1,362,000 to purchase three, 40-foot diesel buses, and the same was awarded in FY15 totaling $2,724,000 with a local match of 10 percent. According to Ocean City Superintendent of Transportation George Thornes, the three, 40-foot buses can be changed to the purchase of artics, which are more expensive but hold more passengers.
Thornes explained the estimated cost for a 40-foot diesel bus is $425,000 that seats 35 with 18 standees. A 60-foot diesel artic bus is about $700,000 that seats 63 with 31 standees.
Thornes furthered an electric 40-foot bus would cost approximately $100,000 more and $150,000 more for a 60-foot artic. A compressed natural gas (CNG) bus would cost about $60,000 more for a 40-foot bus and about $100,000 for a 60-foot artic.
According to Steve Ashcraft of Sandpiper Energy, the company is in the process of natural gas installation, but he estimated the city is, “at least three years from having natural gas available at 65th St. [Public Works Complex].”
Ocean City Fleet Service Manager Ron Eckman explained currently the transportation building is capable of maintaining diesel but does not have the equipment or experience with electric and natural gas, although a switch to electric would be manageable with training.
“We would have no problem currently servicing 60-foot artic buses,” Eckman said.
According to Thornes, the town would like to purchase artics for two reasons.
“Each year we are faced with driver absenteeism and overall shortage problems, and the extra carrying capacity of artics would help tremendously during peak times,” he said. “Before we can commit to purchasing artics, we must find out what the total costs would be and how much would be reimbursable by federal and state grants.”
The town originally budgeted $454,000 for the 40-foot diesel buses, Ocean City Budget Manager Jennie Knapp said. Knapp asked if the savings from FY14 can be rolled to FY15 to purchase two, 60-foot artic buses. She also asked if the buses could be leased.
Thornes said 60-foot artic buses would be used from mid-May to September and cost about $4,000 a month to lease plus the transportation cost to have the buses delivered from St. Louis, Mo.
“We should pursue the idea of leasing them and be reimbursed by MTA,” Knapp said.
Thornes will gather more information regarding rolling over savings and leasing buses for the matter to be further discussed at next month’s Transportation Commission meeting.