Certification for Sustainable Transportation

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The CST logo CST Logo 2019.png
The CST logo

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]

Contents

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.

History

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]

Accomplishments

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]

Certification

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]

Training programs

The Certification for Sustainable Transportation offers two training programs to teach drivers how to be more fuel efficient. [11]

Idle Free

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]

Eco-Driving 101

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]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Vermont</span> Public university in Burlington, Vermont, U.S.

The University of Vermont (UVM), officially titled as University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a public land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. Founded in 1791, the university is the oldest in Vermont and the fifth-oldest in New England, making it among the oldest in the United States. It is one of the original eight Public Ivies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Honda Insight</span> Motor vehicle

The Honda Insight is a hybrid electric vehicle that is manufactured and marketed by Honda. Its first generation was a two-door, two passenger liftback (1999–2006) and in its second generation was a four-door, five passenger liftback (2009–2014). In its third generation, it became a four-door sedan (2018–2022). It was Honda's first model with Integrated Motor Assist system and the most fuel efficient gasoline-powered car available in the U.S. without plug-in capability for the length of its production run.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zero-emissions vehicle</span> Class of motor vehicle

A zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) is a vehicle that does not emit exhaust gas or other pollutants from the onboard source of power. The California definition also adds that this includes under any and all possible operational modes and conditions. This is because under cold-start conditions for example, internal combustion engines tend to produce the maximum amount of pollutants. In a number of countries and states, transport is cited as the main source of greenhouse gases (GHG) and other pollutants. The desire to reduce this is thus politically strong.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commercial driver's license</span> License to operate large or heavy vehicles

A commercial driver's license (CDL) is a driver's license required in the United States to operate large and heavy vehicles or a vehicle of any size that transports hazardous materials or more than 15 passengers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fuel cell vehicle</span> Vehicle that uses a fuel cell to power its electric motor

A fuel cell vehicle (FCV) or fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) is an electric vehicle that uses a fuel cell, sometimes in combination with a small battery or supercapacitor, to power its onboard electric motor. Fuel cells in vehicles generate electricity generally using oxygen from the air and compressed hydrogen. Most fuel cell vehicles are classified as zero-emissions vehicles. As compared with internal combustion vehicles, hydrogen vehicles centralize pollutants at the site of the hydrogen production, where hydrogen is typically derived from reformed natural gas. Transporting and storing hydrogen may also create pollutants. Fuel cells have been used in various kinds of vehicles including forklifts, especially in indoor applications where their clean emissions are important to air quality, and in space applications. Fuel cells are being developed and tested in trucks, buses, boats, ships, motorcycles and bicycles, among other kinds of vehicles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green vehicle</span> Environmentally friendly vehicles

A green vehicle, clean vehicle, eco-friendly vehicle or environmentally friendly vehicle is a road motor vehicle that produces less harmful impacts to the environment than comparable conventional internal combustion engine vehicles running on gasoline or diesel, or one that uses certain alternative fuels. Presently, in some countries the term is used for any vehicle complying or surpassing the more stringent European emission standards, or California's zero-emissions vehicle standards, or the low-carbon fuel standards enacted in several countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">On-board diagnostics</span> Automotive engineering terminology

On-board diagnostics (OBD) is a term referring to a vehicle's self-diagnostic and reporting capability. In the United States, this capability is a requirement to comply with federal emissions standards to detect failures that may increase the vehicle tailpipe emissions to more than 150% of the standard to which it was originally certified.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration</span> Agency of the US Department of Transportation

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is an agency in the United States Department of Transportation that regulates the trucking industry in the United States. The primary mission of the FMCSA is to reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities involving large trucks and buses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Idle reduction</span> Attempts to reduce idling of vehicle engines

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clean Cities Coalition Network</span>

The Clean Cities Coalition Network is a coordinated group of nearly 100 coalitions in the United States working in communities across the country to advance affordable, domestic transportation fuels, energy-efficient mobility systems, and other fuel-saving technologies and practices. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Office facilitates national coordination of the coalitions through its Technology Integration Program. The Network consists of 79 coalitions that work with more than 15,000 local stakeholders that have helped shift nearly 10 billion gasoline gallon equivalents of conventional (fossil) fuel to alternative fuels or energy efficiency improvements, put more than 1.1 million alternative fuel vehicles on the road, and contributed to the expansion of alternative fueling station infrastructure since 1993. As of early 2020, there were more than 29,000 fueling stations nationwide that provide at least one of the following alternative fuels: ethanol (E85), biodiesel, compressed natural gas (CNG), electric, hydrogen, liquefied natural gas (LNG), renewable natural gas, or propane.

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 standards cover tailpipe pollution, including carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate emissions, and newer versions have incorporated fuel economy standards. However they lag behind European emission standards, which limit air pollution from brakes and tires.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trucking industry in the United States</span> American industry

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Trucking Associations</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coach transport in the United Kingdom</span>

The United Kingdom has a number of intercity coach services.

MTR Western is an American motorcoach operator active in the western United States and Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Idle (engine)</span> Rotational speed of engine while idling

Idling refers to running a vehicle's engine and the vehicle is not in motion, or when the vehicle drops to its resting point of RPMs. 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, and without the additional fuel via the gas pedal. If the vehicle moves while in gear and idling, the "idle speed" mechanically should be adjusted.

eRating Program for passenger vehicles

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolling coal</span> Modified diesel engines emitting sooty exhaust fumes

Rolling coal is the practice of modifying a diesel engine to deliberately emit large amounts of black or grey diesel exhaust, containing soot and incompletely combusted diesel. Rolling coal is used as a form of anti-environmentalism protest. In most jurisdictions it is illegal, due to violating clean air laws, and also reduces the fuel economy of the vehicle.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "University of Vermont Extension Certification for Sustainable Transportation" (PDF). Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved 2019-05-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. "Certification for Sustainable Transportation: Benefits and Opportunities for Operators and Consumers | Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Conference". Archived from the original on 2013-03-08. Retrieved 2013-03-21.
  3. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-06-10. Retrieved 2013-01-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "University Communications : University of Vermont". Archived from the original on 2014-03-20. Retrieved 2013-02-05.
  5. "The Best of BUSRide Green Awards | BUSRide Digital". Archived from the original on 2014-01-21. Retrieved 2013-02-04.
  6. "Megabus.com Participates in Green Coach Certification Program -- CHICAGO, Dec. 2 /PRNewswire/ --". Archived from the original on 2013-07-26. Retrieved 2013-02-05.
  7. Anderson, L., Chase, L., Kestenbaum, D., & Mastrangelo, C. (2011). Ecolabels for passenger transportation: Understanding motorcoach company receptiveness to a pilot green certification program. Journal of Sustainable Transportation, doi: 10.1080/15568318.2011.626889.
  8. megabus.com. "GreenRoad Driver Program | megabus". Us.megabus.com. Archived from the original on 2013-11-12. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
  9. "Blue notes" (PDF). www.erating.org. 2010. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved 2019-05-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  10. "MTN | Aba". Archived from the original on 2013-03-24. Retrieved 2013-02-04.
  11. "Certification for Sustainable Transportation Program Launches; Origins at Univ. Of Vermont | Team Trailways". Archived from the original on 2012-12-31. Retrieved 2013-01-28.
  12. 1 2 "Training Programs". www.erating.org. Archived from the original on November 12, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)