The Certification for Sustainable Transportation is a national program housed at the University of Vermont Extension that seeks to promote the practice of using energy efficient modes of transportation. [1] The CST work centers on its eRating vehicle certification program, which is an eco-label for passenger transportation vehicles. The eRating uses a sustainability index which includes factors such as green house gas emissions per passenger mile, emission levels of criteria pollutants, and in certain circumstances factors such as training for drivers and use of endorsed carbon offsets. [2] Once a certain threshold is met, vehicles may qualify for e1, e2, e3, or e4 levels in the certification program. [3]
Other key components of the CST's work are online and in person training programs. The CST offers training programs geared to help drivers and organizations eliminate all unnecessary idling and on eco-driving. These training programs are focused on helping reduce environmental impacts, save fuel, and save money.
The CST is now actively working with companies in 48 states and three Canadian provinces to prevent unnecessary emissions, reduce environmental impact, and decrease consumption of fossil fuels.
This program is not to be confused with the "E-Mark" vehicle equipment safety certification promulgated by the European Union since 2002 under EU Directive 72/245/EEC and amendments to the requirements of Directive 95/54/EC.
In 2007, the University of Vermont began the Green Coach Certification research project, which sought to investigate what efficiency standards would be best applied to motor coaches to promote greater energy sustainability. [4] Research was conducted on actual motor coach companies. [5] [6] It also researched whether a certification program could help reduce environmental impacts from the motor coach industry by educating operators and executives about the benefits, both financial and environmental, of adopting fuel saving strategies and switching to alternative sources of fuel. [7] Upon completion of this pilot program the Certification for Sustainable Transportation was founded as a way to expand the size and scope of the initial program. The CST now works well beyond the motor coach industry, deploying its driver training programs to taxi drivers and school bus operators, and offering its eRating certification to vehicle manufacturers, public transportation industries, and pedi-cab operators. [1]
The CST has partnered with several leading motor coach companies, including Megabus [8] and Academy [9] The CST also works with the American Bus Association and the United Motorcoach Association to assist with each organization's Green Operator Awards. [10]
An individual or organization may submit an application to be certified by the CST. If the application meets the proper criteria, the vehicle being examined is given a score. If that score exceeds a certain threshold, an eRating is given. Areas that are rated include greenhouse gas emissions per passenger mile, the use of low emissions technology, the use of alternative fuels, purchase of carbon offset, participation in CST training programs, and the energy efficiency of other places associated with the company, such as the home office. [1]
The CST gives eRatings on a vehicle basis. There are four levels of certification ranging from e1 to e4. e1 is the lowest level of certification and means that the vehicle has met the requirements satisfactorily, whereas e4 certification means that the vehicle is at the highest level of energy efficiency. [1]
The Certification for Sustainable Transportation offers two training programs to teach drivers how to be more fuel efficient. [11]
This course teaches drivers about the inefficiency of idling, leaving a bus running while it is not driving, and shows them when they should idle and when they should not. Completing this course gives a driver more points towards a higher eRating. The CST uses a unique approach in this training concentrating on helping dispel myths about idling and helping individual drivers find and identify reasons they personally would like to go idle free. The CST worked with drivers around the country to design this program with the intent of having it come across as drivers speaking to other drivers. [12]
This course teaches drivers techniques that they can use to cut their fuel consumption on the road, as well as operate their vehicles more safely. Completing this course also gives a driver more points towards a higher eRating. [12]
Carpooling is the sharing of car journeys so that more than one person travels in a car, and prevents the need for others to have to drive to a location themselves.
The California Air Resources Board is the "clean air agency" of the government of California. Established in 1967 when then-governor Ronald Reagan signed the Mulford-Carrell Act, combining the Bureau of Air Sanitation and the Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Board, CARB is a department within the cabinet-level California Environmental Protection Agency.
Alternative fuel, known as non-conventional and advanced fuels, are any materials or substances that can be used as fuels, other than conventional fuels like; fossil fuels, as well as nuclear materials such as uranium and thorium, as well as artificial radioisotope fuels that are made in nuclear reactors.
Exhaust gas or flue gas is emitted as a result of the combustion of fuels such as natural gas, gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, fuel oil, biodiesel blends, or coal. According to the type of engine, it is discharged into the atmosphere through an exhaust pipe, flue gas stack, or propelling nozzle. It often disperses downwind in a pattern called an exhaust plume.
An intercity bus service or intercity coach service, also called a long-distance, express, over-the-road, commercial, long-haul, or highway bus or coach service, is a public transport service using coaches to carry passengers significant distances between different cities, towns, or other populated areas. Unlike a transit bus service, which has frequent stops throughout a city or town, an intercity bus service generally has a single stop at one location in or near a city, and travels long distances without stopping at all. Intercity bus services may be operated by government agencies or private industry, for profit and not for profit. Intercity coach travel can serve areas or countries with no train services, or may be set up to compete with trains by providing a more flexible or cheaper alternative.
The fuel economy of an automobile relates distance traveled by a vehicle and the amount of fuel consumed. Consumption can be expressed in terms of volume of fuel to travel a distance, or the distance traveled per unit volume of fuel consumed. Since fuel consumption of vehicles is a significant factor in air pollution, and since importation of motor fuel can be a large part of a nation's foreign trade, many countries impose requirements for fuel economy. Different methods are used to approximate the actual performance of the vehicle. The energy in fuel is required to overcome various losses encountered while propelling the vehicle, and in providing power to vehicle systems such as ignition or air conditioning. Various strategies can be employed to reduce losses at each of the conversions between the chemical energy in the fuel and the kinetic energy of the vehicle. Driver behavior can affect fuel economy; maneuvers such as sudden acceleration and heavy braking waste energy.
Vehicle inspection is a procedure mandated by national or subnational governments in many countries, in which a vehicle is inspected to ensure that it conforms to regulations governing safety, emissions, or both. Inspection can be required at various times, e.g., periodically or on transfer of title to a vehicle. If required periodically, it is often termed periodic motor vehicle inspection; typical intervals are every two years and every year.
The Chevrolet Volt is a plug-in hybrid manufactured by General Motors, also marketed in rebadged variants as the Holden Volt in Australia and New Zealand and the Buick Velite 5 in China, and with a different fascia as the Vauxhall Ampera in the United Kingdom and as the Opel Ampera in the remainder of Europe. Volt production ended in February 2019.
The energy efficiency in transport is the useful travelled distance, of passengers, goods or any type of load; divided by the total energy put into the transport propulsion means. The energy input might be rendered in several different types depending on the type of propulsion, and normally such energy is presented in liquid fuels, electrical energy or food energy. The energy efficiency is also occasionally known as energy intensity. The inverse of the energy efficiency in transport, is the energy consumption in transport.
Idle reduction describes technologies and practices that minimize the amount of time drivers idle their engines. Avoiding idling time has a multitude of benefits including: savings in fuel and maintenance costs, extending vehicle life, and reducing damaging emissions. An idling engine consumes only enough power to keep itself and its accessories running, therefore, producing no usable power to the drive train.
United States vehicle emission standards are set through a combination of legislative mandates enacted by Congress through Clean Air Act (CAA) amendments from 1970 onwards, and executive regulations managed nationally by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and more recently along with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). These standard cover common motor vehicle air pollution, including carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate emissions, and newer versions have incorporated fuel economy standards.
Truck classifications are typically based upon the maximum loaded weight of the truck, typically using the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) and sometimes also the gross trailer weight rating (GTWR), and can vary among jurisdictions.
The trucking industry serves the American economy by transporting large quantities of raw materials, works in process, and finished goods over land—typically from manufacturing plants to retail distribution centers. Trucks are also used in the construction industry, two of which require dump trucks and portable concrete mixers to move the large amounts of rocks, dirt, concrete, and other building materials used in construction. Trucks in America are responsible for the majority of freight movement over land and are tools in the manufacturing, transportation, and warehousing industries.
The American Trucking Associations (ATA), founded in 1933, is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. ATA represents more than 37,000 members covering every type of motor carrier in the United States through a federation of other trucking groups, industry-related conferences, and its 50 affiliated state trucking associations. Former Governor of Kansas Bill Graves was replaced by Chris Spear as the ATA's president and CEO in July 2016.
MTR Western is an American motorcoach operator active in the western United States and Canada.
Idling refers to running a vehicle's engine when the vehicle is not in motion. This commonly occurs when drivers are stopped at a red light, waiting while parked outside a business or residence, or otherwise stationary with the engine running. When idling, the engine runs without any loads except the engine accessories.
"Sustainability," was defined as “development which implies meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”as defined by the 1983 Brundtland Commission. As sustainability gains support and momentum worldwide, universities across the United States have expanded initiatives towards more sustainable campuses, commitments, academic offerings, and student engagement.
eRating is a certification, education, and labeling program for passenger vehicles in the United States. It was developed by Certification for Sustainable Transport (CST) at the University of Vermont.
David Evan Kestenbaum is an instructor at the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Vermont and the Director of the Certification for Sustainable Transportation (CST) at the University of Vermont. He is known for his work in the field of Eco-tourism and Sustainable Transportation.
The MCI D-Series is a model of motorcoach bus produced by Motor Coach Industries (MCI). The bus is primarily used by private companies operating scheduled service or commuter buses, government agencies for the transport of prisoners, and in more recent years, public transit agencies who use them on express routes. It is sold alongside the MCI J-Series bus, primarily used by tour and charter operators.
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