San Francisco’s bus fleet fails to run on B20
It has been over three years since the mayor of San Francisco Gavin Newsom announced that the 1,500 city-owned diesel-powered vehicles had been converted to run on B20 – a blend of 80% conventional diesel and 20% biodiesel.
However for a minimum of 12 months, while around 50% of Muni’s buses have been using B20, the remaining buses and the Department of Public Works trucks have been running on a blend of less than 1% biodiesel.
According to Nathaniel Ford, executive director, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, roughly half of these will be converted back to B20 later this month following improvements to an underground fuel tank. Despite this, the remaining vehicles are set to stay at this lower biodiesel blend for the foreseeable future.
And the news is no better for the rest of the region’s diesel-powered fleet – owned by the Department of Public Works, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, the Fire Department and other agencies – as only 40% of these automobiles are using B20, while the remaining 60% have been using B5.
Commenting on these figures Eileen Shields, a spokesperson for the Public Health Department, says: ‘In the New Year we’ll take a look at whatever the regulations are and work with the other agencies to make sure we can be as environmentally responsible as possible.’
However for a minimum of 12 months, while around 50% of Muni’s buses have been using B20, the remaining buses and the Department of Public Works trucks have been running on a blend of less than 1% biodiesel.
According to Nathaniel Ford, executive director, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, roughly half of these will be converted back to B20 later this month following improvements to an underground fuel tank. Despite this, the remaining vehicles are set to stay at this lower biodiesel blend for the foreseeable future.
And the news is no better for the rest of the region’s diesel-powered fleet – owned by the Department of Public Works, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, the Fire Department and other agencies – as only 40% of these automobiles are using B20, while the remaining 60% have been using B5.
Commenting on these figures Eileen Shields, a spokesperson for the Public Health Department, says: ‘In the New Year we’ll take a look at whatever the regulations are and work with the other agencies to make sure we can be as environmentally responsible as possible.’
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