Transit transition in New Orleans: RTA overhauls bus fleet with biodiesel units

Each of the new $385,000 buses will run on biodiesel, a cleaner-burning alternative fuel comprised of specially processed plant or animal fat often blended with petroleum diesel.

"We started looking into the alternative options and so far biodiesel is the option that best fits our needs, so we can strike a compromise between efficient transportation and a greener city," Burgos said.

Using biodiesel for public transit is not a new idea. San Francisco; Columbus, Ohio; Houston; and Bloomington, Ind., are among the cities running buses and other public vehicles on biodiesel, said Amber Thurlo Pearson, spokeswoman for the National Biodiesel Board.

Jefferson Parish recently decided to run public buses on biodiesel to help decrease U.S. dependence on foreign oil while reducing environmental impact.

Jefferson Transit completed its switch to a 2 percent biodiesel blend in January. Eventually, it will upgrade to a fuel made from a higher percentage of biodiesel.

Though its biodiesel contract is not finalized, RTA expects to spend less for biodiesel than it does for conventional fuel thanks to federal tax incentives, Burgos said. RTA now spends around $2.5 million a year powering its buses, spokeswoman Rosalind Blanco Cook said.

Embracing change

RTA officials have been investigating eco-friendly transit options for about a year, Burgos said, heeding calls from planners and community members interested in reducing greenhouse gas emissions to help fight climate change.

RTA ridership is down an estimated 76 percent from an average of 125,000 daily passengers before Katrina to 30,000 today, Burgos said. The agency is running 31 bus routes, or roughly half the pre-storm number.

RTA is counting on a renewed bus fleet expanding the appeal to riders. RTA officials say there is no reason this bus system can't command the respect of those in other cities where riders come from all walks of life.

"We're having to reinvent ourselves," Burgos said. "We're hoping that all these things that we're doing will give people a different perspective on bus transportation."

Biodiesel dispute

A pair of studies published in February tarnished biodiesel's green credentials. The studies, from the journal "Science," conclude certain biofuels are worse for the planet than conventional fuel because the rapid expansion of the biofuels industry means conversion of vast amounts of natural habitat to farmland.

The result is clearing forested habitat in the Amazon basin, for example, to grow biofuels feedstock. This activity releases considerably more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than is offset by the alternative fuel, the studies found.

"It's one of the big challenges with a lot of the alternative fuels," said David Dismukes, associate director of the Center for Energy Studies at Louisiana State University. "We've gotten out of the niche market scale and we've gotten into the commercial scale and there are some problems in producing that level of output."

About 80 percent of commercial-grade biodiesel now available is made from soybeans, according to the National Biodiesel Board. Environmentalists point to eco-friendly alternatives not made from virgin agricultural sources. Researchers, for instance, are investigating ways to turn agricultural waste and algae into fuel.

One of the "greenest" options now available involves used cooking oil, said Eileen Beall of the New Orleans Biofuel Initiative.

Beall collects waste oil from restaurants and converts it to biodiesel for personal use. She contends there is plenty of waste oil available to run New Orleans buses but few companies produce this type of fuel on a commercial scale because waste oil is more expensive and time-consuming to process into biodiesel than virgin oil.

RTA has not yet determined where its biodiesel will come from, something Burgos said will be decided based on availability and pricing and set through the public bid process.

But Burgos said he is excited about the idea of running buses on waste from one of the city's most famous resources -- its restaurants.

"As a New Orleanian, I can't help it," he said. "That would be incredible."

Credit: Emilie Bahr