San Diego County: Towards a Reliable and Sustainable Public Transportation System

San Diego County: Towards a Reliable and Sustainable Public Transportation System

Franco BoscoloResearch Associate, Global Energy Network Institute (GENI)

Under the supervision ofPeter MeisenPresident, Global Energy Network Institute (GENI)

Summary

• Fleet information

• Population trends

• Suggestion for a more reliable system

• Suggestion for a more sustainable system

Fleet information• MTS

• Bus

• Trolley

• NCTD• BREEZE

• COASTER

• SPRINTER

• Amtrak• Pacific Surfliner

Population trends

76%

10%

6%3%

3%

2%

Driving Alone

Carpooling

Work at home

Public Transits

Walking

Other

Modes of commuting to work (2010)

Population trends

San Francisco Los Angeles Orange County San Diego CALIFORNIA0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

2009

2010

mile

s

Daily Vehicle Miles Travelled (VMT) per capita

Population trends

1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 20070

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Mill

ions

of m

iles

Daily Vehicle Miles Travelled (VMT)

Population trends

New York City

Chicago San Francisco Los Angeles Washington San Diego0

100

200

300

400

500

600

Mill

ions

of r

ider

ship

Transit ridership by city

Population trends

2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 2050 20550.0

500000.0

1000000.0

1500000.0

2000000.0

2500000.0

3000000.0

3500000.0

4000000.0

4500000.0

5000000.0

Population Jobs Housing

Population, jobs and housing growth

Proposal: reliable systemComparison of perception of mode performance

Source: SANDAG 2008, San Diego Region – Public Transit Opinion Study, Encinitas, True North Research.

Proposal: reliable system

20.2

15.0

13.9

10.8

9.8

8.5

8.0

5.14.24.5

No travels to necessary areas

Stops locations are inconvenient

General inconvenience of transit

Takes too long

No transit options near home

Schedule inconvenient

Prefer other modes

Too expensive

Do not need / Rarely travel

Other

Motivations for not using transits

Proposal: reliable system2050 regional development plan

Source: SANDAG 2011, 2050 Regional Transportation Plan – Our region, Our Future, San Diego.

• Area improvement

• Transit development

• Fast connections

Proposal: reliable system

12th & Imperial12th & Petco Pk.

12th & KPark & J

Park & IslandPark & Market

Park & GPark & FPark & E

Park & BrodwayC & 11thC & 10th

C & 9thC & 8thC & 7thC & 6thC & 5thC & 4thC & 3rdC & 2ndC & First

C & FrontC & India

Average

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50secondsBus lanes and automatic light systems

• Toll lanes on

highways

• Bus lanes on

city centres

• Active signal

priority system

Proposal: reliable system

Source: TfL (Transport for London) 2012a, Timetable of Bus 159 towards Paddington Basin (W2), Accessed on 15 August 2012, <http://www.tfl.gov.uk/>.

• More transit options

• Higher transit frequency

Proposal: reliable system

• GPS-tracked transits:

• Online and mobile Apps:

Source: Apple Inc. UK 2012, iTunes Preview – App Store > Navigation, Accessed on 15 August 2012, <http://itunes.apple.com/gb/genre/ios-navigation/id6010?mt=8&letter=L&page=3#page>.

Proposal: sustainable system

CO NOx PM0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

Euro3 Diesel Early CNG

g/km

Diesel vs. Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)

Reduction: 25.45% 28.45% 98.12%

Proposal: sustainable systemDiesel vs. Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)

SourceEmissions (gCO2eq/km)

Diesel CNG Reduction

Beer et al. 2001 1,759 1,604 8.81%

Sliva et al. 2006 2,277 2,070 9.09%

Cost DetailsCNG ($) Clean Diesel ($)

Per Bus Per Fleet Per Bus Per FleetIncremental CNG Fuel 2,860 0.6 x 106 - -CNG Fuel Station Maintenance - 0.9 x 106 - -Incremental Bus Maintenance 5,200 1.0 x 106 - -Incremental Cleaning Technology - - 1,040 208,000Diesel Fuel Station Maintenance - - - 92,000Clean Technology Replacement - - 137 27,400Annual Technology Cleaning - - 670 134,000TOTAL 2,500,000 461,400

• When both engine types are retrofitted with cleaning technologies, reductions decrease

• Costs do not justify CNG choice:

Source: DEER (Directions in Engine-Efficiency and Emissions Research) 2003, Comparison of Clean Diesel Buses to CNG Buses, New York City Transit Department of Buses, from August 26, 2003 DEER Conference, Newport, RI.

Proposal: sustainable systemElectrification of the railway system

Service Company Travel (mi) Weekly Trips Yearly Travel (mi)

Coaster NCTD 41 46 98,072

Sprinter NCTD 22 132 151,008

Pacific Surfliner Amtrak 63 154 504,504

Total 753,584

• Rail and light-rail services powered by Diesel engines:

• Electrification has the benefits of:

- Reducing environmental impacts

- Improving the reliability of the service

- Increasing the capacity of trains

- Reducing maintenance, fuel and wear and tear costs

Proposal: sustainable system

Electric

Diesel

0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500CO2 Emissions (g/mi)

Intercity

Regional

0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000 35,000

DieselElectric

Distance (miles)

• CO2 reduction by electrification: 20% - 35% (no local)

• Reliability improvement by electrification: 29% - 57%

• Reduced operating costs (35%) and leasing costs (20%)

Proposal: sustainable systemRegenerative braking system

Proposal: sustainable systemCycling and walking Type Miles %

Bike Path 159.3 11.9Bike Lane 890.2 66.4Bike Route 243.9 18.2Freeway Shoulders 47.4 3.5Total 1340.8 100

• Current San Diego availability

• Development of more bike and pedestrian paths

• Development of a bike docking station system