$25 Billion in US budget savings from switching federal freight shipments to carriers using alternative fuels

A new report from a Washington, DC, energy policy group urges the federal government to begin allocating its US$150 billion budget for transport services to carriers that fuel their fleets on domestically produced natural gas, electricity, biofuels and other alternatives to diesel and gasoline.
August 3, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
A new report from a Washington, DC, energy policy group urges the federal government to begin allocating its US$150 billion budget for transport services to carriers that fuel their fleets on domestically produced natural gas, electricity, biofuels and other alternatives to diesel and gasoline.

The report, by the non-profit 6310 American Clean Skies Foundation (ACSF), says a switch of just 20 per cent of the US government’s business to freight and package carriers using alternative fuels would lead to taxpayer savings of up to $7 billion annually and approximately $25 billion by 2025 (assuming a gradual fuel shift, beginning in 2015). Much of the savings is attributable to reduced fuel costs because major alternatives, such as compressed natural gas (CNG), cost less per gallon than petroleum-based fuels.

The 55-page ACSF report -- Oil Shift: The Case for Switching Federal Transportation Spending to Alternative Fuel Vehicles -- finds that shifting federal transportation contracts to vans and trucks running on alternative fuels could reduce oil imports by billions of gallons annually; cut greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution by over 20 million metric tons a year; and stimulate the nationwide introduction of tens of thousands of new alternative fuel vehicles.

A copy of the 61-page report in pdf format is available at this link.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • New UK study trials effectiveness of low-emission HGVs
    July 25, 2017
    Cenex, the UK’s Centre of Excellence for low carbon technologies is to partner with logistics provider Kuehne + Nagel to trial the effectiveness of low-emissions heavy-goods vehicles (HGVs) operating as parts of large fleets with demanding-duty cycles. Funded in part by Innovate UK’s Low-Emission Freight and Logistics Project, the Reduced-Emission Logistics (RED-E-LOG) trial will see one of the UK’s largest fleet operators trial the effectiveness of dedicated (spark-ignited) gas and dual-fuel direct injecti
    Read More
  • IAM responds to illegal phone use study
    February 26, 2015
    The UK’s Institute of Advanced Motorists has responded to the Department for Transport study carried out by the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) into the prevalence of illegal mobile phone use while driving, saying that the results are disappointing but not at all surprising. The figures show that, in 2014, 1.1 per cent of drivers in England and Scotland were observed holding a phone in their hand with a further 0.5 per cent observed holding the phone to their ear, equating to more than 470,000 motorists
    Read More
  • E-scooter use ‘safer than cars’ in cities: ITF report
    February 26, 2020
    Riding an electric scooter in a city is safer for road users than driving a car, according to the International Transport Forum (ITF).
    Read More
  • Covid-19 and transportation: Maintaining critical operations in times of crisis
    September 12, 2020

     

    What were the major impacts of Covid-19 on transportation?

    At the peak of the shutdowns, passenger use of airports and mass transit was down 90 per cent. Use of roads by private vehicles was 60 per cent lower and use of commercial vehicles was down 10 per cent. Public transit was down 76 per cent and had to keep operating to get essential workers to their places of employment.

    Read More

Highlighted Content