UPS expands use of compressed natural gas vehicles
January 26, 2010 by Tom GuayPosted in: Green Cars, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, News
So you’re interested in the business case for alternative fuels, but you’re not sold on whether electric vehicles (EVs) can cut it in real life. Where to turn?
Consider vehicles that run on compressed natural gas (CNG).
In the right circumstances, companies not only get some credits for reducing their carbon footprint, but CNG-powered vehicles have the range to cover most business needs in a day and can be cost competitive with gasoline and diesel.
This is not a pie-in-the-sky environmentalist pipe dream. CNG vehicles are proven alternatives to petroleum-powered vehicles.
That’s why United Parcel Service (UPS) just expanded its already prodigious fleet of alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) that run on CNG. The national delivery company just added:
- 140 CNG trucks to its fleet in Denver, CO
- 18 CNG trucks to its San Ramon, CA, fleet
- 16 CNG trucks to the Fresno, CA fleet
- 59 CNG vehicles to its West Los Angeles fleet, and
- 12 CNG-powered trucks to its fleet in Ontario, Canada.
These trucks join more than 900 CNG vehicles in use by UPS worldwide. The trucks look identical to the standard brown UPS vehicle.
UPS does gain credits for cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by switching to cleaner burning CNG. But that’s not the driving factor.
CNG makes economic sense right now, and UPS has the experience to prove it. CNG is a “sustainable technology for UPS’s fleet because natural gas is cost effective, clean-burning and abundant,” UPS senior vice president Bob Stoffel said in a statement announcing the fleet expansion.
The use of CNG vehicles makes most sense for companies that can centrally fuel their fleets.
Tags: CNG vehicles, fuel savings, greenhouse gas emissions, UPS
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January 28th, 2010 at 2:18 pm
This is very encouraging news. I understand that the U.S. has its own ample samplies of natural gas within its territorial land mass.
What progrss if any is being made with CNG for its safe use in school buses which have centralized fuel depots? Have any of the big three of bus manufacturers: International, Bluebird, or Thomas/Freightliner done any designing to incorporate CNG as a fuel choice in the near future? I know that Bluebird already has a propane-fueled bus but its fuel efficiency is not as good as diesel.
January 29th, 2010 at 4:14 pm
Look at natural gas reserve maps and Michigan seems to have it everywhere. You would think at least all Michigan State vehicles could run on it. Michigan is supposed to have a “big” initiative to develop alternative energy in the state. Are you listening Governor and legislature?