Spring Break
PTS lessening impact on environment
By: Aly Van Dyke
Issue date: 3/26/08 Section: Green Issue
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Public transportation is one of many ways to combat the global issue of air pollution, and many PTS programs were created with that very principle in mind.
PTS began purchasing diesel-compatible buses for its CatTran shuttle service in 2004, but it wasn't until January 2007 that the buses started using bio-diesel for fuel.
PTS would have switched to bio-diesel earlier but there wasn't any fuel available close to its shuttle compound, said PTS associate director David Heineking, adding that now it has an agreement with the city to use its supply.
In the year after the switch from diesel to bio-diesel, CatTran carbon dioxide emissions fell by over six tons, said Bill Davidson, marketing specialist for PTS.
"We switched to bio-diesel because it's better for the environment," Heineking said. "Air quality is an issue in Arizona and Tucson, and we wanted to make sure we were doing our part."
As PTS doesn't get any funding directly from the state, most of their programs and vehicles are funded by parking permits that students purchase, he said.
That money also goes toward the purchasing of the bio-diesel for the CatTran vehicles, a price comparable to that of gasoline, he said.
A majority of the CatTran shuttles run on bio-diesel, and the remaining gasoline buses are projected to be replaced with bio-diesel vehicles within the next three years, Davidson and Heineking said. The next purchase will come this fall of this year.
CatTran gave rides to approximately 504,000 members of the campus community last year, according to PTS data.
PTS also has a fleet of 22 electric-powered golf carts, meaning 42 percent of its vehicles are powered by electricity, Davidson said. The golf carts are used for the Cart Service and the emergency road service.
The Cart Service provides free rides to UA students and faculty who are temporarily or permanently injured and can be used by filling out a form found at Campus Health Service.
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