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

Pollution & Global Warming  Air pollution every day  Coal plants and energy generation  RESULT: Global Warming  Alternative fuels for city buses and public transportation  OBJECTIVE: Reduce pollution from public transportation by investigating the benefits and drawbacks to different sources of alternative fuel and implementing a pilot program in CDTA bus lines.

Rationale  CDTA produces about 56.1 million pounds of CO2 per year  Spends approximately $9.76 million on diesel fuel 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 fuels to be analyzed have been selected based on environmental and economic criteria

Related Projects  Lafayette, Indiana – study by Yang, Tyner and Sarica  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: I. Data collection II. Data analysis III. Conversion & campaign plan developed IV. Campaign for conversion V. Execution of conversion plan

Funding  Phases 1-4 require minimal, if any, funding  Entire organization consists of volunteers  Phase 5 requires that CDTA provide an initial investment  Phase 4 will include a fundraising campaign  Local community  Businesses  Grants

Timeline  Phases 1-4:  Approximately 1-2 year(s) to be divided as necessary.  Will allow thorough investigation of all alternative fuel and time for campaigns.  Phase 5:  Immediately follows successful campaign  Timeline to be determined (long term)  Restricted by possible CDTA contracts and agreements

Barriers to Completion  High costs  Conversions  New fuel  Possibly new buses to be phased in  Funding for Clean Green Transportation  Companies must perceive good investment opportunity  Expensive conversions require outside funding/donations  Technology  New fuel systems must be advanced and optimized for CDTA usage

Scaling Up and Out  Public transportation across the nation needs to transition to more sustainable sources of fuel.  Convince CDTA to begin conversion program in all 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 as time progresses  Use NYCDCAI to organize supporters and advocacy groups on a national scale

Main Stakeholders High initial capital investment Lower costs in long run Positive publicity CDTA Possible slight initial increase in prices Will decrease in long run to lower prices Cleaner air from green transition Capital District Stakeholders only if WVO is the best fit Decreased costs for oil disposal Positive publicity Restaurants

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  Objective: reduce emissions in 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 initiatives.

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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