Small buses will save STA small amount

Spokane Transit Authority critics may have to find a new rallying call.

STA is now responding to one of the loudest cries – the call for smaller buses.

Fleet replacement plans have STA doing some serious downsizing in the coming years.

By 2008, 57 percent of STA’s buses will be less than 40 feet long. That’s compared with 27 percent of today’s fleet.

Written details of the plan were provided to STA board members this week.

Old, large buses are being replaced with the new, smaller coaches as part of STA’s routine vehicle replacement program.

“The taxpayers are paying for it. If they say buy smaller buses, we need to buy smaller buses,” STA board member and Spokane City Councilman Al French.

Yet smaller buses don’t save as much money as some might imagine. The bulk of costs are for expenses that remain the same, short bus or long – costs such as drivers and mechanics.

The areas where savings can be realized by downsizing vehicles – fuel and parts – account for 17 percent of operating costs.

Operations Director Steve Blaska estimated that buying smaller buses over the next few years will save STA about $87,000 out of its $40 million annual operating budget.

“We haven’t discovered a gold mine, but it is the responsible thing to do,” Blaska said Thursday.

Any savings have to be balanced with the risk that STA could buy buses that are too small. If multiple routes grow to the extent that they require additional buses with additional drivers, the extra costs could wipe out the smaller bus savings.

That’s why many transit agencies buy all 40-foot buses, Blaska said.

STA has reduced its risks by ordering some buses one size up from what is required now, but still not the largest size, he said. The agency also has the ability to adjust its order in the years ahead, if necessary.