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CASE STUDY

RTA's Fuel Program Bearing Fruit

BY BRADLEY WEAVER
Media and Public Relations Manager
Riverside Transit Agency
Riverside, CA

The Riverside Transit Agency (RTA) launched a campaign nearly six years ago to save the agency gas money—and now that campaign is paying off.

The Fuel Task Force Committee—launched in 2012 and spearheaded by former RTA board member and San Jacinto City Councilman Andrew Kotyuk, along with three current board members, County Supervisor Marion Ashley, Jeff Comerchero and Ike Bootsma—cleared the path for how RTA does business when it comes to buying natural gas, participating in state and federal fuel credit programs and working with private contractors to manage the operation.

The committee’s goal was to explore alternative options for purchasing CNG to power RTA’s growing bus fleet. During the early 2000s, when RTA dumped diesel fuel in favor of clean-burning CNG, the agency purchased natural gas from its local utility, Southern California Gas. Under that plan, RTA received the natural gas from a pipeline owned by the utility provider. Problem was, as a public utility, the Southern California Gas Company was prohibited by the Public Utilities Commission from selling natural gas through any arrangement other than the monthly published index price.

That all changed in 2013 when RTA made the move to buy fuel from an alternative—and more affordable—fuel source. That source was GHI Energy, a Houston-based business that purchases and sells energy-related credits and petroleum products. Fortunately, the switch to GHI was seamless, with no new challenges and/or infrastructure required.

RTA has seen significant savings since the change. Over the past four and a half years, the agency has saved approximately $3 million in fuel costs. These savings amount to roughly $600,000 annually for taxpayers, which solidifies RTA’s efforts to use taxpayer dollars wisely and enables the agency to invest in existing services—meaning more funding to extend bus routes, boost frequency and keep fares low.

 This winter, RTA’s Board of Directors unanimously approved a new five-year agreement with GHI Energy to continue managing the agency’s fuel program. The new agreement is expected to save RTA even more money moving forward.

“The efforts we put forth six years ago are starting to bear fruit,” said RTA Board Chairman Art Welch. “Not only are we saving taxpayer dollars, we are also investing in a world-class public transportation system.”

A Task Force and The Quest for Less Expensive Fuel
The origin for the change to a private fuel provider can be traced back to 2012 when RTA’s Board of Directors began examining new strategies for purchasing natural gas and investigating the agency’s participation in California’s successful cap-and-trade program, which aims to fight against climate change.

California’s system involves setting a statewide emissions limit—the cap—which is enforced by requiring businesses to buy credits in order to pollute a certain amount inside the limit. There are only as many credits as there is space under the cap. Businesses can buy and sell the credits, creating a market price on greenhouse-gas emissions. Those for whom it is easy to cut back on emissions do so, and those for whom it is harder buy credits.

Over the following nine months, RTA’s Fuel Task Force concluded that the best way to participate in the cap-and-trade program, and maximize the potential benefits of selling credits, would be to partner with an independent company that could provide fuel, manage RTA’s participation in the state program and ensure the agency remained in compliance with the program’s requirements.

During the spring of 2013, that job was given to GHI Energy, which provided the agency with the most competitive pricing on natural gas (this equated to roughly 10 percent less than what RTA was paying the local utility) and maximum compensation for California’s cap-and-trade program and a federal program that provides credits to public transit agencies that use renewable natural gas.

 A Tradition of Clean Fuel—And Looking Ahead
This isn’t the first time RTA has pushed the boundaries of how it fuels its fleet.

In 1988, prior to today’s laws that regulate bus emissions, RTA was among the first U.S. public transit systems to operate low-emission methanol buses. In fact, when RTA’s Riverside headquarters was built in 1986, it included a separate fueling system for alternative fuels.

The drive for cleaner fuel didn’t stop there. In 2001, the agency took its biggest step by replacing its entire fleet of diesel buses with CNG buses. Today, RTA employs nearly 175 CNG vehicles, including buses, trolleys and company vehicles.

Last year, the agency unveiled its first near-zero emission natural gas vehicle. On the outside, the 40-foot Gillig bus looks similar to others in the fleet. It has the same 280-horsepower engine and runs on CNG. But what sets it apart is the souped-up engine, which takes “thinking green” to a whole new level.

The bus is powered by an engine that provides a 90 percent reduction in nitrogen emissions and 15 percent reduction in greenhouse gases compared to RTA’s already clean-burning engines. The 1,625-pound super engine, made by Vancouver-based Cummins Westport Inc., gets better performance due to an enhanced control system that monitors sensors, and fuel and ignition systems.

Looking ahead, RTA is examining the possibility of using the same technology aboard other buses in the fleet, and RTA officials say the partnership with GHI is likely to continue proving a win-win situation.

“This innovative partnership is helping RTA save money and take advantage of plentiful supplies of natural gas,” Welch said. “It’s also part of a larger mission by RTA to better meet the needs of the customers and put a product on the streets that we can be proud of.” To learn more, contact Bradley Weaver at bweaver@riversidetransit.com, 951-565-5172.

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