Alternative Transportation – Rewards and Incentives

My interest in alternative fuel was enlightened today by an article in the Deseret News on the

Utah Transit Authority considering employing soy power. A move to this could save $750.000 per year in fuel costs.

UTA has entered into negotiations with an Ogden based firm to begin purchasing bio-diesel fuel. The fuel would be a blend of 80% bio-diesel and 20% soy. THe plan is to use the fuel for all UTA busses. NOt only will this be a monetary savings all around, it will be better for our environment, as many of us know.

I am hoping that the monetary savings will be used to create and restore more bus routes which are desperately needed in our valley. Additionally, I personally feel that the warehouse parking lots that are at each TRAX station should change from free parking to having to pay a fee to park. This would promote more bus useage, therefore supplying more bus routes in response to such a demand.

A second article in the same paper today,Clean fuel could earn free parking, reports that Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson is advocating for free parking for all vehicles that use alternative fuel. While I advocate programs and methods that provide incentives for alternative transportation and fuel, I’m not sure that free parking is a warranted incentive. That just promotes more driving and what we need is more mass transportation, better design of busses and trains to promote more bicycle use, and less automoblies being used. Revenue from meters is needed and can also act as a deterrent to the use of vehicles.

So, YAY! for the bio-diesel/soy fuel for our busses and NAY! for free parking for bio-diesel vehicles.