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Elk Grove buses hit a bumpy road: Elk Grove suing over sidelined hybrid fleet.
(Sacramento Bee, The (CA) (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jul. 19--When the city of Elk Grove unveiled its new transit buses four years ago, it laid claim to the nation's only all-hybrid municipal commuter fleet.
Then came the bus fires.
Now the 21-bus gasoline-electric hybrid fleet costing $10 million is sidelined, and the city is suing the manufacturers and other transit-related contractors for breach of contract.
Among the complaints: at least four bus fires, some 30 catastrophic engine failures, noxious exhaust fumes inside buses and buses unable to achieve freeway speeds with full passenger loads.
Now it's clear that e-tran, the city's transit agency, is destined for change. Elk Grove City Council members say they need to raise fares and increase scrutiny of the city's transit contract.
In the next few months, they will consider cutting ties with transit operator MV Transportation Inc. of Fairfield when its contract ends June 30. MV is one of six defendants named in the city's May 20 lawsuit.
A range of alternatives will be considered, from bringing transit operations in-house to returning to the former service provider, Sacramento Regional Transit.
Already, the road to change is proving bumpy.
The city's transit manager, Carlos Tobar, left for a job in Tampa, Fla., in May.
In June, council members were taken by surprise when they learned the transit division was ending the fiscal year $2.1 million over budget.
Then there was the July heat wave.
When Elk Grove resident Melita Esperante endured a sweltering ride home aboard a compressed natural gas bus in triple-digit heat, she let council members know.
"Every part inside that bus was just so hot you could not touch (it)," Esperante said in an e-mail, which she copied to The Bee.
At the next council meeting, Councilwoman Sophia Scherman took up the matter.
"I'm really disgusted with MV ... ," she said. "Either they send the right mechanics who know what the heck they are doing ... or get out of the business."
MV has not commented on the suit. But MV Regional Vice President Jay Jeter responded to the frustration with the CNG buses.
The city purchased both new and older CNG buses to replace the hybrids. Jeter said some had close to 400,000 miles on them.
The buses' air conditioners lower interior temperatures to 20 degrees below those outside, an industry standard, he said.
"We have been working as diligently as we can with that fleet," Jeter said. "Obviously, we're trying to partner with the city and be supportive of what it's trying to do for the citizens of Elk Grove."
RT General Manager Mike Wiley said his agency requires bus manufacturers to conduct rigorous hot-climate testing to ensure that buses can be cooled far beyond the industry minimum.
Elk Grove's suit complains that the hybrid buses, too, had serious air-conditioning lapses.
The suit names ISE Corp. of Poway, maker of the hybrid drive system, and Complete Coach Works of Riverside, which used the ISE equipment as it refurbished buses, two consulting firms and one consulting company executive, along with MV.
ISE Corp. said in a prepared statement that it stands behind the quality of its work and disagrees with the city's allegations.
It called the company's inclusion in the suit "unfortunate ... given the good-faith efforts we have made to work with the city of Elk Grove."
Macy Neshati, vice president for Complete Coach Works, said because the issue is in litigation, the company's legal counsel advised executives not to comment.
The suit also complains that the manufacturers' technicians and mechanics "sought to conceal the extent of the bus malfunctions" by failing to adequately document problems and attempts at repairs.
It said bus fires occurred in components in ISE's hybrid system on four occasions in 2007 -- once in February, twice in May, and again on Sept. 4. The fires caused significant damage to wiring and electrical systems and to one bus's exterior, the suit said.
The fire last September prompted the city to remove the entire fleet from service, only 33 months after purchase. They were supposed to last 12 years.
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Copyright (c) 2008, The Sacramento Bee, Calif.
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