Date of Award

Spring 2026

Abstract

The transportation section remains one of the largest contributors of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions due to private vehicles being the dominant mode of transit. Pushing for increased usage of public transit offers significant potential for decarbonization. This study provides a sustainability assessment of the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Wildcat Transit System across environmental, economic, and social dimensions aimed at providing education on low-emission fleet strategies. Life Cycle Analysis LCA) and Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) were used to measure environmental and economic impacts in the fleet of 30 vehicles operating on compressed natural gas (CNG) and biodiesel B20 fuel. A user-based survey measures social sustainability across five dimensions, safety, reliability, representation, accessibility, and information. Results show that CNG buses have significantly lower environmental impact than B20 buses (2.49 x 10^5 kg CO2-eq compared to 4.90 x 10^5 kg CO2-eq), as well as slightly lower life cycle costs ($915,500 compared to $992,500) for a single vehicle. Total fleet GWP is 1.18 x 10^7 kg CO2-eq and total fleet cost is $30,690,000. Total fleet impact is reported as kg CO2-eq./passenger mile for environmental impact and dollar/passenger mile for economic impact. The Wildcat Transit fleet scores are 0.655 kg CO2-eq/passenger mile and 1.705 dollars/passenger mile respectively. The survey revealed moderate social sustainability within the system with a score of 0.56, the strongest aspect in safety and the weakest in reliability and information. Sensitivity analysis is used to determine the most influential drivers in both environmental and economic contexts. The findings underscore the value of integrating life cycle metrics with user-based social data to guide sustainable transit planning. This framework provides a transferable model for small- and mid-sized transit systems navigating low-emission transitions under resource constraints.

Document Type

Master's Thesis

First Advisor

Erin Bell

Second Advisor

Weiwei Mo

Third Advisor

Cuihong Song

Degree Name

Master of Science

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