Text Box: Charlotte’s Chatter www.clutchchatter.com NATURAL GAS MOTORS MECHANICALLY SOUND Since I now use Paratransit for most of my movement around Sacramento, I decided I needed to attend a Board Meeting. I want to know what is going on. No, they didn’t give me a copy of the budget report, but I heard a bunch of numbers with explanations that sometimes made since. But the report from the gentleman from Regional Transit really caught my attention. We need 42 new buses and only have enough money for a couple of them. Regional Transit is in hopes of acquiring the rest of the needed money on the “Capitol to Capitol” tour in April. This is when people from Sacramento go to Washington DC and meet in small groups with different and various legislators, to discuss needs of Sacramento. We are suppose to be the only group that does this and the legislators, after many successful years, expect us. Our buses usually last 12 years before needing either replacing or refurbishing. Some of the older buses that that have reached this magic age were some of the first buses whose gasoline powered motors were replaced with natural gas systems. But these first tanks and whole systems that were installed to hold the natural gas cannot be refurbished, without spending an enormous amount of money. It would cost almost as much to refurbish them as replace them. The other buses were fitted with tanks that can be refitted and brought up to code within normal budget limitations. He said the older buses would be sent to a used equipment company that will resale the buses to churches, retirement homes, etc. These private companies will use the equipment until they are no longer usable. I imagine there are no groups of people willing to get these buses to preserve them and love them like we do our V-8’s. Another point he brought out was the natural gas systems in the buses didn’t have as many mechanical problems as regular gasoline motors experience over the life of a Regional Transit bus. This has saved a lot of money, of course. Due to conflicting required scheduling with other originations for the month for March, there will be no meeting in March. The next Board Meeting will not be until April. Gene Hall wants me to ask about the number of empty full sized buses running in and around the outlying areas of Sacramento. He has suggested a call-in system, similar to the system Paratransit now uses, to pick up individual at different locations as needed. I can see this would be a horrible headache, but could suggest the smaller vans, like the ones used by Paratransit, be used. I wonder if they will say the buses and vans were comparable in cost to do these runs. As I am taken around Sacramento at all hours of the day and night I do see people waiting at bus stops all over. They may not fill an entire bus, but their needs for transportation are important, too. Not everyone has to be at a job by 8 am. :)Charlotte