Hybrid Buses Face Stumbling Block
Last month, we looked at how funding from the Stimulus Bill was allowing cities to purchase hybrid buses
that were previously out of their price range. The idea was that the spending would stimulate job growth in the country and save fuel. A recent study out of Hawaii, however, has shown that the hybrid buses deployed in Honolulu are not saving the city any money.
The hybrid buses that Honolulu began integrating into its fleet in 2004 cost $1 million each, as opposed to the $380,000 that the city previously spent purchasing diesel buses. Without a doubt, the new hybrid buses are more fuel-efficient, cleaner, and quieter than their diesel predecessors, but a new study found that gas prices would have to increase by 20% each year for the next 15 years in order to justify the extra cost of the hybrid buses. The report concluded that the city should abandon its hybrid bus program in favor of diesel buses that use technologies that make diesel fuel cleaner and more efficient to burn.
This study perfectly illustrates the problem facing the American public when it comes to adopting hybrid vehicles. Nobody wants to go out of their way to buy gas-guzzlers that have higher emissions, but until hybrids become more cost-efficient than their internal combustion cousins, they will likely remain a very small percentage of the auto market.
