Johnson County SEATS gets new hybrid vehicle

IOWA CITY - Johnson County SEATS, a paratransit organization, has unveiled a new hybrid vehicle to help the program run its 550 trips, on average, each weekday.

The program partners with various disability services and provides rides to residents who need to get to appointments with doctors and to the grocery store.

Fares on one of the fleet's 27 vehicles are $2 one-way.

The SEATS' newest vehicle comes with an Energy Recovery System that cost $17,000, some of which was paid for using federal funds.

The system, developed by Lightning Hybrids in Loveland, Colo., hybridizes a vehicle with an existing internal combustion motor.

The vehicle's motor/pump converts mechanical energy to hydraulic when the vehicle is braking and hydraulic energy to mechanical when it is accelerating. The stored hydraulic energy is used in place of a battery.

The hybrid offers a 50 percent reduction in air-polluting nitrogen oxides and up to 35 percent fuel savings, said Tom Brase, SEATS director.

'It saves fuel emissions and really helps us go green and save money,” he said. 'There's no downside to it.”

Brase said the vehicle is a trial one, but, assuming it performs as promised, he hopes to transition more of the fleet to the greener technology.

He thinks the county can recover the hybrid's extra cost through savings on wear and tear and fuel efficiency.

A normal SEATS vehicle costs around $100,000.

The new vehicle also will have a new exterior look, with green striping and a 'Corridor Rides” graphic rather that the current 'ECITransit” graphic. Over time, Brase said, other vehicles will be sporting the new Corridor Rides brand.

The new hybrid vehicle, which has yet to be put into service, also addresses one concern rider Harry Olmstead has about the service.

Olmstead, a member of the SEATS Paratransit Advisory Committee, said his ridership experience has been positive except for some of the worn, aging vehicles themselves and the high demand for rides.

Overall, though, Olmstead said SEATS is an important program for the community.

'Why it's important is simply SEATS gives door-to-door service,” Olmstead said. 'People with disabilities or people that are aged certainly want to be able to stay as independent as possible and do things in the community, whether it be go to their doctor, be able to get out.

'SEATS makes it possible for that.”

l Comments: (319) 339-3172; maddy.arnold@thegazette.com