Clean Green Transportation New York Capital District Clean Air Initiative Thomas Li Max Jenquin Joe Venusto

Opening  Air pollution every day  Coal plants and energy generation  RESULT: Global Warming  Alternative fuels for city buses and public transportation  OBJECTIVE: Investigate the benefits and drawbacks to different sources of alternative fuel and use this information to implement a pilot program in the local CDTA bus lines to test the new fuel and its capacity for mass transit.

Rationale  CDTA spends $9.76 million on diesel per year  produces approximately 56.1 million pounds of Carbon Dioxide per year.  Analysis of different alternative fuels  Numerous similar projects and campaigns  Each fleet is unique – what works for one may not for another  Use analysis to determine best fit for CDTA  Types of fuel to be analyzed have been selected based on economic and environmental criteria

Related Projects and Organizations  Lafayette, Indiana  Study showed CityBus’ lowest cost was with compressed natural gas  Feasibility of Clean Green Transportation  Phoenix, Arizona  Purchased 120 CNG buses  Will provide lower costs in long term  Biotour  Successfully converted bus to run on Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO)  Possibility of WVO being new fuel

Aims, Location, and Organization  Research alternative fuels and their impacts both environmentally and economically  Perform cost-benefit analysis specific to the CDTA fleet  Campaign to convince the organization to adopt the strategy  CDTA operates in Troy, Schenectady, Saratoga, and Albany  Nonprofit Research Organization operating largely on campus: New York Capital District Clean Air Initiative  Investigate  Campaign  Implement

Project Design and Context  New York Capital District Clean Air Initiative  Statistical and computational analysis, academic research, community outreach, project management and design  Investigate and analyze: E85 Ethanol, Biodiesel, Propane, Compressed Natural Gas, and PEMFC Hydrogen cells  Key Phases:  Data collection  Data analysis  Conversion plan and campaign preparation  Campaign for conversion  Execution of conversion plan

Project Design and Context  Funding  Phases 1-4 require minimal, if any, funding  Entire organization consists of volunteered time  Phase 5 requires that CDTA provide an initial investment  Efforts to raise funds from the public and government will be made in phase 4

Most Significant Barriers to Completion  High costs  Conversions  New fuel  May have to purchase new buses  Funding for Clean Green Transportation  Companies must perceive good investment opportunity  Need donations and support to purchase conversion tanks and new fuel systems  Technology  New fuel systems must be advanced and optimized for CDTA usage

Project Design and Context Stakeholders  Lots of stakeholders because of the scope and scale  CDTA  Residents of Troy and Capital District  Sodexo and local Troy and C.D. restaurants  Economics  Lower prices and costs

Potential for Scaling Up and Out  Public transportation across the nation needs to transition to more sustainable sources of fuel.  Convince CDTA to begin pilot program in Troy routes.  Draw from experiences and research by other cities:  Lafayette, IN & Phoenix, AZ  Use this and our experience to convince other cities  Decreased price for technology  Use NYCDCAI to organize supporters and advocacy groups on a national scale

Stakeholders: CDTA  Conversion costs will be high initially  Lower costs in long run  Used vegetable oil is relatively inexpensive  Diesel is more expensive, but less will be bought  Decrease in long run costs for the CDTA prompted by a high initial investment  Positive publicity because of green transition

Stakeholders: Troy and Capital District  Riders may initially experience slight increase in riding price because of increased costs the CDTA will incur  In long run, prices will drop because of the lower costs to the CDTA  Results in more ridership (lower prices encourage ridership)  May decrease emissions more than just by the CDTA’s fuel conversion

Stakeholders: Local Restaurants  Stakeholders only if WVO is the best fuel  Will be encouraged to monitor used oil quality to ensure it is usable by fleet  Costs to firms will decrease  Restaurants must pay disposal fees to dispense WVO  Fees will decrease  Positive publicity because of green transition support

Social and Cultural Trends  Green movement—public opinion on alternative fuels  Political support  Changes in emission regulations  If CDTA cannot run same routes with higher standards, it will reduce runs  Easier for C.G.T. to persuade support from CDTA  Better publicity  Fuel prices  Lower prices of other fuels could influence decision

Evaluating Success  Long run goal to reduce emissions in Troy and Capital District  Success based on how effectively and efficiently that goal is accomplished  Did CDTA adopt alternative fuel?  How effective was the plan overall?  Success will provide effective response to sustainability issue in Troy and Capital District  Will also allow us to provide feedback, research, and information to other cities looking to implement similar information

Bibliography  Anderson, Tim. "Waste Vegetable Oil Conversion for Diesel Bus." Instructables. Autodesk Inc., 07 Aug Web. 7 Nov  "CDTA Board Approves Strategic Fleet Financing Plan." Capital District Transport Authority. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Nov  Cline, Annika. "City Approves Alternative Fuel Bus Purchase." Downtown Devil. N.p., 18 Feb Web. 07 Nov  "EERE: Vehicle Technologies Office Home Page." Carbon Dioxide from Gasoline and Diesel Fuel. US Department of Energy, 1 Nov Web. 07 Nov  "Fuels & Vehicles." EERE: Alternative Fuels Data Center. US Department of Energy, 07 Nov Web. 07 Nov  Jennifer A. Dlouhy, $3.5M grant goes to CDTA for hybrid electric buses. Timesunion.com news. Published Tuesday, Sept. 22,  "Petroleum and Other Liquids: Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update." US Energy Information Administration. US Department of Energy, 04 Nov Web. 08 Nov  Todd Litman, Evaluating Public Transportation Health Benefits, June 14, From the Victoria Transport Policy Institute, for the American Public Transportation Association.  "Vegetable Oil as a Fuel." Squeaky Wheels Adventures. Squeaky Wheel Adventures, n.d. Web. 7 Nov 2013.

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