CNG Bus

Project: CNG Bus - Investigation

The idea of this project is to see how feasible (realistic) it might be to change the school's bus from diesel fuel to compressed natural gas fuel.   Natural gas appears to have many benefits. There is now a company in the Dominican Republic (Linea Clave) that is offering both natural gas for vehicles as well as the conversions necessary to use the gas fuel. Would it be worth doing the conversion?

We need investigators to help us decide whether or not this is a good idea.
To join this project:
If you have already joined our wiki (We Are Key), then send an email to wfarren(at)cms.edu.do. If you have not yet joined, join and tell us that you want to participate in this project.  We need your help!

Big Six Framework (An information problem-solving approach) [1-Task Definition] - [2-Info Seeking Strategies] - [3-Location and Access] - [4-Use of Information] - [5-Synthesis] - [6-Evaluation]

1- Task Definition: (1.1-Define the Problem) Find out if switching our school bus over from diesel fuel to compressed natural gas (CNG) (or a mixture of both) is a good idea. What are the benefits? What are the negatives? What would it cost? If it is a good idea, how can it be done? (1.2-Information needed to complete the task) How much would it cost to convert the bus? How many kilometers is the bus used every year? How much does it currently cost to operate the bus each year? How much does it currently cost to operate per kilometer? How much would it cost to operate per kilometer using CNG? How much does current maintenance cost per year? Would it be more, the same, or less using CNG? Where can the bus be filled up with CNG? Is it convenient? Does this add to the cost of use? Is Sofigas a better alternative? And many more...

2-Information Seeking Strategies:  (2.1-Possible Sources) http://www.lineaclave.com/ (Company in DR) http://www.comunimas.com/sofigas/noticias.htm (Other company in DR) http://www.galileoar.com/2005/00_ingles/conversion_kits/diesel.htm  http://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/altfuel/natural_gas.html http://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/altfuel/gas_benefits.html http://auto.howstuffworks.com/ngv2.htm (Benefits, Disadvantages) People at Linea Clave (sales staff?, technical staff?) People at Sofigas (sales staff? technical staff?) Bus Driver (Demetrio) Our office staff (business dept.) Website with current (and possibly future) CNG prices for DR Website with information about CNG's energy content. And more... (2.2-Select the best sources)

3-Location and Access (3.1-Locate sources) -Contact information for people at Linea Clave:______________ -Contact information for people at Sofigas:______________ -Office staff: Who to contact?___________ Contact Information:___________________ -Websites with current CNG prices for DR:_________________ -Websites with information about CNG's energy content:________________ (3.2-Find information within sources) -What key words are we looking for?______________ -What will we ask the sales people at Linea Clave?___________________The technical staff?_______________ -What will we ask the sales people at Sofigas?___________________The technical staff?_______________ -What will we ask the business staff?____________________

4-Use of Information (4.1 Engage in the source (read, listen, view, touch) Ask for help if you don't understand something. (4.2 Find the important stuff. Take notes.) (Create subpages for this project if needed for more notes space. It's helpful for others to see the notes.) Notes Page 1 -  Notes:

5-Organize your information and present it. Use hyperlinks, pictures, tables, etc. to make your findings clearer. What did you find out? What should be done?

6-How would you rate the quality of your solution? What areas, if any, need more attention?