Airports use more 'green' buses, taxis; Building boom requires environmental tradeoffs

Prodded by rules and financial incentives, airports are using more vehicles for moving passengers and workers that are less taxing on the environment.

Buses and cars owned by Phoenix Sky Harbor and Dallas/Fort Worth now run fully on cleaner-burning compressed natural gas, or CNG. The airports in San Jose, San Francisco, Milwaukee and New York have been aggressively buying vehicles that run on alternative fuels, including CNG, biodiesel or propane.

More than 25 major airports use shuttles or employee passenger cars using natural gas, says Richard Kolodziej, president of NGVAmerica, a trade association for natural gas vehicles.

The current building boom at airports is a key reason for the switch. The federal government assigns each proposed runway or terminal project a permissible level of environmental damage. If the airport anticipates that the new project would exceed the permitted level, it must find ways to offset the pollution at other parts of the airport. Using cleaner airport vehicles has helped with the required pollution offsets, says Bill Elrick of consulting firm The Torrington Group.

Regulators, he says, "are saying, 'If you don't meet (the limit), we're going to make it hell for you.'"

In addition, tougher laws, improving technology, higher petroleum prices and government subsidies have made cleaner vehicles more attractive.

Many states' environmental agencies help pay for the higher cost of using alternative-fuel vehicles. A CNG shuttle can cost as much as $50,000 more than one that is gas-powered.

A Federal Aviation Administration program called Voluntary Airport Low Emissions (VALE) provides grants to airports to pursue cleaner-fuel projects, including purchase of alternative-fuel vehicles. But its "overly tight restrictions" and the fact that its money comes from the same pot of money for other airport infrastructure projects have made many airports reluctant to apply, Kolodziej says. Only four airports have received VALE funding since it started in 2001.

Some airports are encouraging the use of alternative fuels in shuttles used by hotels and private parking companies. San Francisco, for example, charges lower fees for hotels and parking companies that use only alternative fuel: $2.65 a trip vs. $7.95 for others. Nearly all vendors now pay the lower fee, says San Francisco International's Roger Hooson.

Oakland requires airport taxis and ground-transportation providers to run 50% of fleets on alternative fuel. And Boston gives preferred parking to passengers driving alternative-fuel vehicles. Taxis with cleaner fuel get front-of-the-line privileges twice a day, a program modeled after one at San Francisco International.

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