A new compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station for Lincoln’s StarTran bus service will expand paratransit services for residents with disabilities and could save the city hundreds-of-thousands of dollars annually in fuel costs, city leaders outlined Thursday morning.
CNG is a sustainable renewable fuel source that is more environmentally friendly than diesel fuel. StarTran first invested in CNG in the 1990s when it purchased its first CNG fueled vehicle. In 2019, Black Hills Energy donated CNG fueling equipment to StarTran, which allowed the transit system to fuel its paratransit vans. StarTran will use the new CNG station to fuel 41 buses and 11 paratransit vans.
The new $6.3 million CNG station at 445 South 8th Street is Lincoln’s largest, funded by a 2018 $825,000 grant from the Nebraska Environmental Trust and a 2018 $2.6 million bus and bus facility grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration (FTA), 2022-23 $2.15 million annual FTA funding, and $770,000 in local StarTran funds.
Lincoln Transportation and Utilities Director Liz Elliott said the downtown location of the new station will allow StarTran to reduce fueling time from 45 to 10 minutes per bus.
CNG fuel costs have also been reduced from an average of $5 per gallon to an average of $3 per gallon, saving StarTran $729,571 in fuel annually. These efficiencies save significant labor hours that will be reinvested into other StarTran services, such as the expanded paratransit service, she said.
“By enabling our StarTran buses to refuel more efficiently, we save both time and money, which frees up resources for our City to provide even more public transportation options for our community members,” said Mayor Gaylor Baird. “Furthermore, this effort supports our Climate Action Plan goal to transition all vehicles in our City fleet to electric or alternative fuels by 2040.”
For more information on routes and schedules, download the StarTran RideLNK app or visit lincoln.ne.gov/transit.