MTA SWITCHING ABOUT 330 BUSES BACK TO METHANOL.

Byline: David Bloom Daily News Staff Writer

It seemed like a good idea at the time, but ethanol has proven even more of an operational disaster as the fuel for about 330 MTA buses than the methanol that was originally used, officials said Thursday.

As a result, Julian Burke, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's interim chief executive officer, told the agency's board he has ordered about 190 buses to be electronically reprogrammed in coming weeks to use methanol again.

And though Burke is continuing to dicker with the bus engine manufacturer over warranty issues, MTA officials are planning to convert the remaining, disabled ethanol buses to run with ``clean diesel'' engines.

Board members said they wanted more information on the clean diesel conversions, however, and that will be brought back next month.

``This is a judgment that's not easy to make,'' said Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, the board chairman. ``We have to balance many interests.''

The clean diesel conversions have been controversial largely because of smog implications in the nation's dirtiest air basin. Though the engines allegedly meet current state emission rules, air quality regulators have said they will require the agency to conduct follow-up tests to prove the converted buses meet the standards.

In 1995, the agency had converted its troubled alcohol-fuel fleet, the nation's largest, from methanol to ethanol. Methanol buses had repeated breakdown problems compared to diesel engines, and officials were concerned that fuel costs were about to jump dramatically.

But despite promises that the ethanol fuel wouldn't wear out the engines as fast, in fact, the fuel has been far worse, MTA officials said.

Ethanol engines need rebuilding every 25,000 miles, compared to every 45,000 miles for methanol and every 200,000 for diesel, said Richard Hunt, an MTA deputy executive officer for operations. And ethanol forces mechanics to replace fuel injectors every 3,000 to 5,000 miles, at a cost of about $4,500 each time.

Methanol cost hikes never materialized either. Now, methanol goes for about half as much as ethanol on a per-gallon basis and, even accounting for a lower energy output, remains less expensive, officials said.

The buses can be converted from ethanol back to methanol simply by reprogramming their electronic systems. Officials expect it to cost about $100 per bus.

``The desirability of converting (to methanol) is simply a cost issue,'' Burke said. ``Whatever we do (with the clean-diesel question), we ought to take advantage of that cost differential, because it's substantial right now.''