draft letter to King County Council
Joshua Daniel Franklin
Thank you!
Council members:
On September 15, 2009, the King County Auditor presented a
"Performance Audit of Transit" to the Metropolitan King County Council
Government Accountability and Oversight Committee. In "Report A:
Financial and Capital Planning," the audit claims that "replacing the
trolley fleet with hybrids would save $5.6 million per year."
However, on investigation we have found that King County Metro
Transit provided the auditor with an unrealistic assumption 5 mpg
fuel efficiency for hybrid buses running. While no doubt that rate
could be reached under certain conditions, the 2006 evaluation of
Metro's hybrid buses found that in-city routes on Seattle hills
had an observed rate of 3.17 mpg (PDF at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_County_Metro#cite_note-hybridreport-68 )
Second, an updated report should examine possible ranges of diesel fuels
costs since they have volatility changed in the past. While no one can
predict future fuel prices with confidence, $10/gal for diesel is not out
of the question within the expected life of new buses. These prices would
not only erase expected savings, they would cost county taxpayers
significantly more than trolley buses.
Additionally, since the county is evaluating a large purchase of trolley
buses, the per bus cost should reflect the same level of volume discount
that Metro received on the hybrid New Flyer buses.
We urge you to update the audit report to avoid basing a costly financial
decision on inaccurate data.
Thank you,
Supporters of Electric Trolley Buses