The Cincinnati Enquirer
22 May, 2006
Aggressive planning and a good deal on fuel will enable Metro to continue operating without raising fares, despite rising oil prices.
Since last month, all regular route buses are being fueled with a blend of 50 percent biodiesel fuel, a soybean-based fuel derived from beans grown in Ohio. By summer, the buses will be running on a blend of 75 percent biodiesel fuel.
The increase will make Metro - which operates 390 buses - the largest user of biodiesel fuel among the country's city transit companies, according to Mack Findley, business manager for Peter Cremer of North America, Metro's biodiesel fuel supplier.
Metro - which uses about 3.6 million gallons of fuel a year - has a contract to buy biodiesel fuel at about $1 less than market rates by passing an IRS blender credit on to Peter Cremer, according to Sallie Hilvers, spokesperson for Metro. Biodiesel fuel is more expensive than regular diesel fuel on the market, but Metro's savings makes it cheaper.
The benefits go beyond economic savings. Use of biodiesel fuel reduces emissions. "When you start up a SORTA bus, you don't see that plume of black smoke - that's biodiesel fuel," Findley said.
And because Ohio is the sixth-largest producer of soybeans in the country, it's also good for the regional and state economies.
Metro is well situated as far as fuel supplies go. After Katrina hit, delivery of diesel fuel from the Gulf Coast to the area was disrupted. So Metro arranged to purchase biodiesel fuel in lieu of scarce diesel fuel and began using a winter blend of 20 percent biodiesel. The proportion of biodiesel is lowered in cold-weather months because it can gel and clog fuel filters.
Higher prices at the pump haven't translated to a substantial increase in ridership, according to Mike Setzer, Metro chief executive. Riders aren't counted on a daily basis, but Metro relies on revenue to determine whether ridership is up or down. "Revenues are up," Setzer said. "The problem is that our fare structure changed in 2005. Some revenue is up because of higher fares and some is up because of increased ridership."
Setzer expects that more people will take the bus if there is no relief in gas prices. "People don't change their commuting patterns right away. I'm guessing we haven't seen the impact yet because people already bought the car, they've already paid for the monthly parking spot. They've committed to those expenses and it takes awhile for change," he said.
Another variable that affects ridership is job growth outside of Metro's service area, Setzer said. "The main reason people ride the bus here is to go to work. Where jobs are and what's happening to the job market are probably even more important than fuel prices."
In addition to its regular city routes, Metro collects commuters from several park-and-ride lots within the Interstate 275 beltway and four outside - in Mason, West Chester, Harrison and Eastgate.
Hillary Shanteau, a software quality assurance coordinator for Kroger Co., lives in Lebanon - about 25 miles from downtown - and takes the 71 express route from Kings Island to her job every day. Shanteau pays $90 a month to ride the bus and estimates that it would cost her about $340 to drive.
As a bonus, the hour she spends riding home from work "allows me to de-stress from the day," she said.