UPS expands “green fleet”
UPS is adding more than 300 alternative fuel vehicles to its North American fleet by receiving 139 propane delivery trucks and placing an order for 167 compressed natural gas (CNG) vans.The CNG trucks will be deployed early next year in Dallas, Atlanta and four California cities: Los Angeles, Ontario, San Ramon and Fresno. They will join more than 800 such vehicles already in use in the United States. The propane vehicles are joining nearly 600 propane trucks already operating in Canada and Mexico.
The company also said it will use biodiesel fuel in its ground support vehicles at its air hub in Louisville, Ky.
“While there’s a great deal of interest in the research we’re doing with new types of hybrids, 70 years of testing alternative fuel vehicles has taught us there are multiple technologies that can effectively reduce our dependence on fossil fuels as well as our carbon footprint,” said Robert Hall, UPS’s director of vehicle engineering. “Adding this many propane and CNG vehicles is going to have a very positive impact.”
UPS’s global alternative-fuel fleet now stands at 1,629 vehicles and includes CNG, liquefied natural gas, propane and electric and hybrid electric vehicles. The company also is working with the Environmental Protection Agency on a hydraulic hybrid delivery vehicle.
