Diesel Technology Keeps Public Transportation Clean as Ridership Grows

Business Wire, Oct 2, 2008

Diesel Technology Forum Highlights Advances in Curbing Pollution

SAN DIEGO -- Americans are driving less and using mass transit more, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the buses they're riding are using much cleaner fuels and technologies than ever before. The Transportation Department reported this week that 11 percent more people took mass transit in July than in July 2007.

The American Public Transportation Association Conference and Expo in San Diego will present several of those advances, including clean-diesel and diesel-hybrid technologies, Oct. 6-8.

Clean diesel remains the most popular choice for transit systems, powering almost 80 percent of buses already in operation, while new diesel-hybrid technologies are capturing a growing share of orders for new buses. In January, for instance, 77 percent of new bus orders by the nation's 10 largest transit agencies were diesel hybrids and 23 percent were clean-diesel engines, according to the public transportation association's Public Transportation Vehicle Database.

"The new generation of clean-diesel engines enables transit districts, which often operate on tight budgets, to deliver the most reliable transportation at the lowest cost," said Allen Schaeffer, executive director of the Diesel Technology Forum. "The successful deployment of the clean diesel-hybrid buses in the nation's largest transit districts underscores the confidence in the future of clean-diesel technology by the nation's transit leaders. It is allowing us to deliver the same, or better, environmental performance than alternative fuels, at a fraction of the total cost, including infrastructure development and bus acquisition."

For transit systems, diesel offers unmatched performance, reliability and durability. Unlike other new technologies that require multi-million-dollar infrastructure investments, ultra-low sulfur diesel is available now. With this cleaner diesel fuel, transit agencies are also able to modernize and upgrade buses to lower emissions by installing new emissions-control technologies like particulate filters.

Clean-diesel fuel and new engine technology result in 98 percent fewer pollutants emitted by buses than in 1997 while still meeting the world's strictest air-quality standards. On older engines, retrofit technologies, which are supported by federal funding, can reduce particulate-matter emissions by 20 to 90 percent.

ABOUT THE DIESEL TECHNOLOGY FORUM

The Diesel Technology Forum is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness about the economic importance and environmental progress of diesel engines and equipment. Forum members represent the three parts of the modern clean-diesel system: advanced engines, cleaner diesel fuel and effective emissions-control systems.

For more information, visit www.dieselforum.org.

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