Text Transcripts
Metro Transits new Hybrid electric buses are in service and more are on the way.
Narrator
It's not really magic, but this is the most environmentally friendly bus in the country. King County Metro Transit welcomed the first of more than 200 hybrid electric buses to join its fleet in a ceremony fitting for a rock star. And make no mistake, the hybrids will star in King County for years to come. They will initially drive on routes that use the downtown bus tunnel. They burn ultra low diesel fuel and also run on electricity that is generated within the vehicle and stored in batteries on the roof.
King County Executive Ron Sims says:
This bus is a first of its kind bus and it's not surprising that it's showing up here first. We pride ourselves in this area in being cutting edge. This is cutting edge technology, it is superb and it will transform transit systems throughout the United States.
Senator Patty Murray says:
While other communities are looking for solutions, King County today becomes the first in the nation to take delivery of a new fleet of high capacity, 58 passenger hybrid buses. These new buses will in turn deliver cleaner air, better service and less congestion, all while saving our taxpayers money.
King County Executive Ron Sims says:
When we explored options, we decided hybrid technology had the best potential to meet all of our very demanding requirements in this area. We wanted to reduce fuel consumption, and these buses will reduce fuel use by metro and Sound Transit by 750-thousand gallons per year. We wanted them to improve our operational efficiencies, and they do that, they reduce emissions by more than 90-percent. They eliminate diesel exhaust odors and they have improved on road performance.
Narrator
The hybrid electric buses will begin service on June 5th, with the full complement of more than 200 of the buses in service by the end of the year.
Metro Transit buses will run on a blend of biodiesel and ultra low-sulfur diesel fuel for the next two years.
Narrator says:
This Metro Transit bus is the first in King County to run on a mixture of bio-diesel fuel and Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel fuel, making it one of the cleanest running buses in the state.
It marks the beginning of a two-year pilot project to reduce green house gases that contribute to global warming. Metro also hopes it will strengthen the homegrown bio-diesel market in Washington. With the delivery of the first nine thousand gallons of bio-diesel fuel to Metro's Ryerson Bus base, project partners talked about how important this is to our environment and to farmers.
Ron Sims/King County Executive says:
Metro's commitment to piloting the use of bio-diesel will make it the largest user of bio-fuels in the state of Washington, which will in turn significantly increase markets for this clean burning alternative to fossil fuels.
No need to import oil, our supply can be homegrown as oil seed crops right here in Washington State as we can tell anybody, there is no reason not to use bio-fuel, no reason.
Dean Boyer/Washington Farm Bureau says:
Most bio-diesel today as you may know is produced from soybeans, but growers here in Washington are looking at other high oil seeds such as canola and mustard seed that show great promise.
K.C. Golden/Climate Solutions Policy Director says:
This project is a perfect antidote to our energy dependence. It takes some of the dollars that we would otherwise be sending to Houston and Riyad and to Caracas and sends them instead to Columbia County and Lincoln County and to Tukwila and I know personally I'm going to feel a heck of a lot better about putting my buck and a quarter in that machine when I get on the bus knowing that some of it is going to stay in this community and build our economic future instead of contributing more to our energy dependence.
Narrator says:
The bio-diesel project is part of a Seattle City Light greenhouse gas mitigation program, and Metro Transit is committing to using a five percent blend of bio-diesel with Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel to power its fleet of more than 1,200 buses for the next two years. King County's solid waste division has also agreed to purchase and use up to 50,000 gallons of bio-diesel for its operations.
WiFi Bus
Narrator says:
The first WiFi equipped Metro bus rolled through King County today. The wireless internet connection will be available, free to riders, on Metro routes 48 and 197, as part of a five month pilot project to see if WiFi is feasible though out the Metro system.
Ron Sims, King County Executive says:
Basically theyve wired this bus on two routes, one in city that takes you from the University District to Rainier Beach, and another one that takes you from Kent-Des Moines at Star Lake to Seattle, a commuter route. We will have these buses fully WiFi ed, that is the commuter can get on those buses and they can pull out their computers and email their friends and say you wont believe Im on a Metro bus. But for people like me who like to read the news, who really look forward to the sports pages, this will be a tremendous asset. Again all were doing is saying when you are on public transportation, we have an obligation to insure that we maximize the ability of our customers to remain connected.
Narrator says:
The WiFi connection is made by a Junxion mobil connection box installed at the front of the bus and outfitted with a cellular air card that will allow passengers to power up their laptop computers or WiFi enabled devices and access the internet.
Kevin Desmond, Metro Transit General Manager says:
We do think this is a really important new service to put on buses and we want to measure whether or not its something that can apply for all of our bus service or work it toward specific markets such as commuters or high end users and so forth and thats why were using both an urban and commuter route.
Ron Sims, King County Executive says:
I think what were going to find is, one, its very popular and people are initially going to say wow, is this experimental or what, but as we make it more robust and the distributor upgrades and provides faster band width, this is going to become very, very popular.
Narrator says:
The WiFi equipped buses will be specially marked, and passengers who use the service will be asked to help Metro evaluate the service by filling out an online survey, which is something they can do while theyre riding the bus.
Waterfront Streetcar
Narrator says:
The George Benson waterfront streetcars last run for a while was November 18th, and there were a lot of people who wanted to be a part of it. The streetcar was already full when it pulled up to the Jackson Street station, but nobody seemed to mind as they made room for more on the last trip down the tracks. For some it was a nostalgic journey.
Streetcar riders say:
I used to be a conductor, and you can speak any language on the streetcar.
I really like the streetcar and I'm really sad it's closing, so the conductors gave me this jacket and I'm very thankful to them.
Narrator says:
All five of the vintage 1928 streetcars had to move to a temporary home so the streetcar barn near pier 70 on the waterfront could be torn down to accommodate the Seattle Art Museums waterfront sculpture park. A new streetcar barn is being planned near Pioneer square. But moving five 38 thousand pound streetcars across town, without inflicting damage or disrupting traffic is no easy task. The work had to be done in the early morning hours before the commute started. A heavy duty crane was parked at the old barn and after carefully balancing the streetcars, they were lifted and swung onto flatbed trucks, one at a time. Once secured on the flatbed truck, the cars were then driven across town, again in the early morning hours before the commute to a metro bus base that was rigged to accommodate them until their new barn is constructed. This meant laying some temporary tracks and knocking out some walls so they could be rolled into place. Each car was then off loaded, and pushed into place where they will be safely tucked away until they are ready to resume service. Until then, Metro is providing a free bus to passengers along the waterfront streetcar route.
Kevin Desmond/Metro Transit General Manager says:
We've been working with the local communities, the International District, Pioneer Square district and the waterfront community for the better part of a year on what to do about the streetcar and what to do while the streetcar service is suspended. It's very important to the community while the streetcar is suspended that we maintain a transit link and by wrapping the buses to pretty much look like the streetcar it's a way to maintain a certain identity to this particular bus route to both encourage commuters as well visitors to this location to continue using our transit service. The bus will be running pretty much the exact same service as the streetcar, same frequency, same time of day, essentially the same route with a few changes in the Pioneer Square area. Because it's a bus route and it's operating almost entirely in the free ride zone we thought for general customer understanding of the bus system we thought it should remain free. Secondly it's something to give back to the community to say we want to make sure that people avail themselves to this particular route. We know that the streetcar has a certain appeal above and beyond what a bus is and this is a way to maintain that appeal, by making it free. The streetcars are going to be put in a warehouse, until we can put a new maintenance facility in the Pioneer Square area.
Narrator says:
So the streetcars are warm and safe in their temporary shelter, and their old barn, well its already history. With the new chapter to unfold sometime in the next few years.
Hybrid Bus anniversary
Narrator says:
It has been one year since King County Metro Transit took delivery of the largest fleet of hybrid buses in the country. The one year report card for these 214 buses shows they are delivering on their promise of lowering greenhouse emissions, improving gas mileage and reliability. King County Executive Ron Sims met with Metro drivers and mechanics today to go over the buses performance data.
Ron Sims/King County Executive says:
Over the last year, the new hybrid fleet overall fuel economy rated 31 percent higher than the fleet of 30 conventional 60 foot diesel buses. After logging an estimated eight million miles, the hybrid buses are demonstrating a 32 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional diesel buses. The hybrid buses are also proving to be 41 percent more reliable than their articulated diesel counterparts which means they have less down time and require fewer parts and repairs.
Narrator says:
Sims also credited Metro employees, many of whom agreed to specialized training to help launch the hybrid fleet, for the success of the buses.
Ron Sims/King County Executive says:
We have you, the Metro transit employees who keep this fleet on the road every single day, either by driving them or maintaining them, you are the reason for this success. Some of you had to travel to Indiana for intensive training on how to maintain these buses, over two thousand operators were trained to drive them, as a matter of fact they had to learn that they accelerate very quickly. Even today traffic technicians continue to work closely with General Motors, Allison Transmission engineers to improve this already superb vehicle. Part of the efficiency of these buses is that 90-percent of the diagnostic work performed by Metro technicians is done on lap top computers. This is a very intelligent vehicle communicating with very intelligent technicians, the best of the best.
Narrator says:
Metro Transit is acknowledged as one of the most environmentally conscious transit operators in the nation. The 214 hybrid buses represent about 16 percent of Metro's fleet, which also includes 155 electric trolley's that produce zero emissions. The rest of the Metro fleet runs on ultra low sulfur diesel fuel, and Metro is currently testing a five percent blend of biodiesel fuel in a portion of its buses.
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