[Busriders-van] Biodiesel Buses

[David Maidman]

I just learned this summer about diesel engines being run on 
vegetable oils rather than petroleum based fuels. I guess the diesel 
engine was used in its early stages on farms in the American south 
and was designed to run on peanut oil as that is what was prevelant 
at the time. The use of trolley and natural gas buses are a great 
idea but Translink has a whole fleet of diesel burning buses. Using 
biodiesel fuels would allow us to convert these buses to 
non-polluting public transportation.

I have included a few links below to show that this is not a 
pipedream but is well underway in other jurisdictions. The only thing 
lacking in our public transit system is imagination and desire to 
serve the public rather than the corporate good.

http://www.uvm.edu/~bdiesel

http://www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/ert/cc/ccfsbf.html

http://www.trucks.doe.gov/research/fuel/buses.html

http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2002/07/19/canola_bus020719
-- 
Cheers

Dave
New Westminster, BC