Bus System Dumps Biodiesel

High fuel costs have forced the Summit Stage to forego the use of biodiesel in the transit system's bus fleet.

The fleet is being powered instead by conventional low-sulfur diesel fuel.

The 20 cent premium biodiesel commands over regular diesel fuel has caused the stage to use regular diesel fuel. Had costs not become a road block, the free bus system would have used a fuel blend that contains 80 percent diesel and 20 percent soy derivative this summer.

Unlike diesel, the soy derivative contains no sulfur, so the blend produces less air pollution in its emissions than diesel alone does.

The bus system is currently paying $2.22 per gallon for conventional low-sulfur diesel, up 80 cents per gallon since January. The Stage's 2005 fuel budget is $335,000, and $272,000 has already been spent.

Summit Stage buses used biodiesel in the warmer months of 2004. The biodiesel cannot be used during the winter - it turns to a gel and plugs the engines of the buses.

The fuel-cost picture is unlikely to get any prettier in the future. Beginning in September, 2006, the EPA will require the buses to run on ultra-low-sulfur diesel or ultra-low-sulfur biodiesel, which will increase costs by an additional 40-60 cents per gallon