The Badger Herald: Opinion: Green-light for hybrid efforts wise

Opinion

Green-light for hybrid efforts wise

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By Letters to the Editor
Tuesday, October 16, 2007 12:00 a.m.

4 Vote 0 Votes

New additions to the University of Wisconsin campus can be seen at a street corner near you. Even in the midst of financial problems, the city of Madison and the university took a risk that looked beyond the cost-effectiveness of the policy. The forward thinking represented by the acquisition of five hybrid-powered buses is a significant event and needs to be applauded.

Mayor Dave Cieslewicz's claims that the buses are good for the city's bottom line may not entirely be true. Without considering the environmental and aesthetic benefits of the buses, they require less maintenance and diesel fuel, but sell at a significantly higher price and require the consistent replacement of expensive batteries. However, looking at the immediate cost and benefits is not the most advantageous way to evaluate this policy nor is the approach the city and the university took when deciding to purchase the buses.

Political constraints and politicians' time horizons usually limit policies that have upfront costs and delayed benefits. The purchase of the gas-electric buses represents exactly what you do not expect from the government. The ultimate benefits of this move to gas-electric buses will not be felt for years to come, yet the initial costs of the policy are significant. Sure, the technology of the buses is impressive; however, it is nowhere near what it will be in the future. Also, it is unclear how much, if any, money this will save the city. Even with the uncertain cost savings, the city of Madison and the university decided to invest in the future.

In the upcoming years when every vehicle is a variation of a hybrid, this move to gas-electric buses will be forgotten. It will become obvious why the city of Madison and the university made this decision. However, right now, when the technology is not as efficient as it should be, and the costs are higher than they should be, it is much harder to connect the dots. A subtle payoff of this move to gas-electric buses is that it explicitly tells the producers that the demand for this technology is increasing. The real payoff of this policy will be when the producers find ways to increase the technology's efficiency while decreasing its costs.

While it is very easy to criticize the federal government for the war in Iraq and Wisconsin's state Legislature for the budget fiasco, take time to applaud the city of Madison and the university. The next time you ride the 80 because Bascom Hill looks more like "Bascom Mountain," take time to think about the seat you are sitting in. That seat represents the forward thinking we want from our institutions.

Ryan Baumtrog

<em>Master of Public Affairs Candidate

La Follette School of Public Affairs

rpbaumtrog@wisc.edu

4 Comments | Leave a comment

Anonymous | October 16, 2007 4:04 AM | Reply
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I’m very proud to have these buses, and I hope we get more soon. On Wisconsin!

—Damien C. Bordeaux

Anonymous | October 16, 2007 7:53 AM | Reply
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They shouldn’t let fat people ride the bus. Really, the obese should walk to where ever they’re going. And without fat people, there would be a lot more room to sit, and we probably wouldn’t need such big buses any more.

Smaller buses, less fuel consumption.

Anonymous | October 16, 2007 11:33 AM | Reply
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“The next time you ride the 80 because Bascom Hill looks more like "Bascom Mountain," take time to think about the seat you are sitting in.”

How about the next time you put your fat ass in a bus seat (or two), think about getting some exercise and making that a sustainable habit. Basom Hill is but a wee drumlin, hardly a mountain.