FleetSmart Profiles: Highway Coach

Farwest Bus Lines Ltd. – Kitimat Terrace, British Columbia

Fuel-Cost Savings Using Natural Gas

Farwest Bus Lines Ltd. operates a bus charter, airport shuttle and general delivery service in the Kitimat Terrace area in northwest British Columbia. Over the past two decades, the company has gained a significant competitive edge by operating its fleet on natural gas, while retaining the capability to use gasoline when necessary.

Controlling fuel costs

As a transportation company, Farwest Bus Lines finds that the cost of fuel is one of its largest operating expenses. When the company decided to explore more affordable alternatives to gasoline in the early 1980s, natural gas quickly emerged as the obvious choice.

"Natural gas was chosen because it made sense from every angle" explains Philip Malnis, Operations Manager of Farwest Bus Lines for the past 20 years. "It still does. Although the price of natural gas has gone up, it is still cheaper than gasoline, and it is environmentally friendlier."

Farwest recognized the economic and environmental benefits of natural gas. Still, it had to be able to use gasoline as a backup fuel supply due to the distances its vehicles travel. Thus the company decided to convert its gasoline vehicles to bi-fuel operation. Farwest's natural gas bus fleet now includes twenty-four 72-passenger buses and three 29-passenger buses that serve regular daily customers, such as school boards, as well as occasional users, like tour groups and community clubs. The routes travelled by the buses take in both urban and rural areas.

Conversions done in-house

Farwest has trained its mechanics to refit gasoline engines and install the natural gas storage tanks under the buses.

"We had to teach our own people to do the work because no one in this area could install the system," notes Mr. Malnis. "Our mechanics were certified on a one-week course and quickly mastered the techniques through experience gained working on the fleet. We have had no problems since our mechanics took on these responsibilities."

By doing the conversions in-house, Farwest can also ensure a minimal interruption in service. A bus is off the road for only two days while the conversion kit is installed and the vehicle is road-tested.

"Conversions cost about $3,000 per bus, plus labour to install the kit," reports Mr. Malnis. "This price does not include any government tax incentives or gas company grants that have been available over the years. A typical conversion usually pays for itself within one year through fuel-cost savings, depending on how much the bus is driven. The quicker it logs distance, the faster the payback is accomplished."

Minimal driver training

Farwest's drivers need little training to operate the converted vehicles, since changing from one fuel to another while on the road simply requires flipping a switch on the dashboard. When this is done, there is only a slight hesitation as the fuel supply changes.

"It is simply a matter of showing them the fuel switch and telling them why we want to run the engine on natural gas as much as possible," explains Mr. Malnis. "The importance of cost savings are obvious to our drivers, so they understand our objectives." As well, the drivers quickly realize that there isn't a decrease in power or performance when vehicles run on natural gas. This has helped secure acceptance of the new fuel.

Farwest encourages its drivers to run on natural gas as much as possible to maximize fuel efficiency and minimize tailpipe emissions. Drivers regularly use gasoline to start the vehicles to ensure that the engine's fuel injectors do not become contaminated or seize up as a result of infrequent use.

On-site refuelling

Farwest has also taken the major step of installing natural gas compression and refuelling equipment at its depots in Prince Rupert, Terrace, Kitimat and Smithers. This has proven a wise investment, both in terms of refuelling convenience and fuel-cost savings.

"We bought the fast-flow system because it allows you to fill a tank in about three minutes," notes Mr. Malnis, adding that slow-fill equipment would take several hours to fill the same tank. "We own the equipment and take care of the service needs. This requires only about a half-hour each week to check the pressure gauges, oil and some other minor components."

Mr. Malnis points out that on-site compression and refuelling equipment is not necessary in order to use natural gas, assuming the fuel is available at a local gas station. (Natural gas for vehicles is available throughout Canada, except in the Atlantic provinces.) However, having a compressor on-site means the fleet operator can draw natural gas from a regular utility supply line, thereby ensuring a convenient, uninterrupted supply and a lower fuel cost, since there is no retail mark-up. As a result of having the system on-site, Farwest pays less than $0.285 per litre-equivalent for natural gas (2002 prices), compared with the local gasoline price of about $0.615 per litre.

"The savings we realize through the use of natural gas are incredible," says Mr. Malnis. "Our fuel costs are half of what they were when we were using gasoline. Natural gas also burns much cleaner than gasoline. This keeps our oil and engine components cleaner and reduces service requirements."

In fact, extended engine life has proven a major benefit of using natural gas. Traditionally, the engine life for Farwest's buses was about 200 000 kilometres. With natural gas, the company has managed to increase engine life to 300 000 kilometres, with low maintenance requirements.

A strong recommendation

After about 20 years of using this alternative transportation fuel, the management of Farwest Bus Lines remains extremely enthusiastic about the benefits of natural gas.

"Our experience with natural gas has been great," concludes Mr. Malnis. "Returning to gasoline is simply not an option around here; it just does not make sense for our operations. I would recommend natural gas to anyone running a bus fleet and count it among the best cost-saving initiatives in our business. If you are not using it, you are at a serious disadvantage to any competitor who is."

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