“Staff estimates that savings derived from using CNG as a fuel for the 22 buses, instead of diesel, should more than offset the debt service on these capital items and, depending on the final cost of natural gas, save RFTA an additional $164,000 to $210,000,” said a memo from Blankenship to the agency’s board of directors.
As published by The Aspen Times, RFTA is spending nearly $16.42 million on the project: the filling station involved an investment of $5.59 million and the cost of the buses was $10.72 million. For this, the agency received a Federal Transit Administration capital grant of $9.4 million, and Encana provided an investment grant of $365,000. In addition, RFTA itself issued $6.65 million in qualified energy conservation bonds.
