Steve: The current issue (May 1998) of the Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Newsletter does compare them: A standard diesel bus costs US$249,000 and a CNG bus costs between $287,000 and $311,000 depending on whether it is a low floor or high floor model. Each of the buses that Ballard sold to Chicago cost $1,400,000 each, plus a $900,000 hydrogen budget for all three for the two year test period, plus other unspecified costs. It is not clear whether there is any gross margin to Ballard on the buses--its actual costs might be higher.
The article didn't state what the fuel bill would be for diesels or the CNG buses, but since we know that hydrogen costs four times as much as conventional fuels relative to the energy it contains, it is likely that the Ballard buses cost more to operate per mile as well as more to buy.
They are extremely clean, however, and that is important. There may well be some wealthy transit authorities willing to pay for that. Many, however, may not want to lay off drivers and close down routes to pay for cleaner air.
Ooops! I keep forgetting; as everyone on this thread knows, fuel cells and buses are just like DRAM chips--the more you produce, the more the cost plummets, until they undercut everything in the market. There--problem solved.
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