100% of SJC Shuttle Buses Now Clean-Air Vehicles
Airport completes transition from diesel to compressed natural gas

SAN JOSÉ, CA – Cleaner air and lower costs are the benefits of the complete transition from diesel to compressed natural gas for the entire 34-bus fleet of airport shuttles at Mineta San José International Airport.

The airport placed fourteen new blue CNG shuttle buses into service over the past two weeks to replace its remaining diesel-fuel vehicles. The airport began operating its first twenty clean-air buses in 2003.

The conversion of the entire bus fleet to clean-air vehicles has been assisted by grants from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District totaling $1.4 million over the past five years.

The airport has eliminated the use of more than 1.3 million gallons of diesel fuel since 2003 as a result of its first phase of conversion to CNG buses. This has saved over $3 million in fuel costs and reduced vehicle exhaust emissions by about 76 tons every year. With the new buses in service, the airport estimates it will be able to reduce total exhaust emissions by nearly 100 tons a year compared to 2001 levels.

“This conversion is a critical step in helping us accomplish San José’s Green Vision goal of having 100 percent of city vehicles run on alternative fuels to improve air quality, decrease greenhouse gas emissions, and reduce dependence on foreign oil,” said Mayor Chuck Reed.

In addition, SJC has encouraged clean air conversion of taxis through operational incentives and grants. As a result, more than 45 percent of all taxi trips from the airport now are in alternative-fuel vehicles that use CNG or hybrid electricity, compared to six percent in 2005.

SJC also opened its state-of-the-art compressed natural gas station in August 2003, which is open for use by the general public and commercial fleets with CNG vehicles. The fueling station originally cost $3,100,000, for which the Airport received grants totaling $750,000 from the California Energy Commission and VTA.

With additional grant support from VTA and BAAQMD, the airport will be enlarging its CNG fueling station this year to accommodate its expanded shuttle fleet and increase public opportunities to take advantage of lower cost fuel that emits less exhaust.

SJC leases its CNG buses from Penske Truck Leasing, and they were built to the airport’s specifications by New Flyer Industries. The fleet, which serves SJC passengers and employees using long-term and employee parking areas, rental car center, and the airport’s terminals, is operated under a contract with ShuttlePort California, LLC.

The airport’s clean air efforts were recognized in 2007 with a national achievement award from NGV America, a national trade association that promotes alternative-fuel vehicles, and by the American Lung Association in 2004.

About Mineta San José International Airport
Mineta San José International Airport, a self-supporting enterprise, is owned and operated by the City of San José. SJC served 10.7 million passengers and handled approximately 209 million pounds of air cargo in 2007. SJC has 170 flights a day on 13 domestic and international carriers to 30 nonstop destinations.

Mineta San José International Airport is located in San José, California’s third largest city and the nation’s tenth largest city (population of 989,500). For more Airport information, visit www.sjc.org, or call Airport Customer Service at (408) 501-0979.

-SJC-

1732 N. First Street, Suite 600, San José, CA 95112-4538 24 Hour Media Line: 408.501.7700