Transportation is one area that is ripe for delivering savings to businesses looking for ways to contain costs in the new year, according to Thermo King Corp. Continue Reading

Truckers serving the Port of Oakland petitioned the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to delay emissions upgrades for drayage trucks, but the state agency declined. Undeterred, the West State Alliance, which is leading the charge on behalf of the truckers, is intent on ensuring their voices are heard. The next phase regulations calls for 2004 model engines to be retrofit with particulate filters by 2012, followed by 2005-2006 models to be Continue Reading

Yesterday, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved a third year of funding to promote the purchase of next-generation clean cars, trucks and off-road equipment. The program will offer up to $40 million to be distributed on a first-come first-served basis. Trucking companies in the state can receive vouchers to help support the addition of fuel-efficient hybrid and zero-emission trucks into Continue Reading

The California Air Resources Board granted fleet owners a reprieve, announcing on the date by which all tractor-trailers must have origingally submit phase-in compliance schedules that they were now given an extra 30 days. The new deadline by which owners of fleets of 21 or more trailers must notify CARB of their schedules to be fully compliant with the state’s greenhouse gas reduction regulation is Aug. 1. By opting in to Continue Reading

Fleets based or operating in California have until July 1 to submit “phase-in” compliance plans, giving them until 2015 to comply with the state’s greenhouse gas reduction requirements of using aerodynamic equipment and fuel efficient tires. But in order to take advantage of this extension, fleets must register with the California Air Resources Board and submit their compliance plans by the July 1 deadline. If they don’t, all trailers in the fleet domiciled in Continue Reading

Response to the California Air Resources Board’s Clean Vehicle Project has been such that the incentive program is nearly out of money. The rebates ranging from $1,500 to $5,000 for passenger cars, zero-emissions motorcycles and select commercial electric vehicles are doled out on a first-come, first-served basis, but the number of requests could deplete the agency’s coffers by July. Funding could be renewed at CARB’s July board hearing, but changes to the program are expected. Among CARB’s proposals are tripling the money it makes available for the program, but cutting the Continue Reading

The California Air Resources Board is fanning out across the state, sponsoring one-day events to help truck owners familiarize themselves with the agency’s regulations, equipment requirements and funding opportunities. Beginning this weekend, the first of the three events will kick off in Riverside, with stops in San Mateo and Fresno also planned. At each location, mock truck inspections will be held, and classroom training will cover the following regulations: idling, heavy-duty vehicle inspection program, engine labeling, truck and bus regulation, drayage truck regulation, tractor and Continue Reading

After years of trying to reach a satisfactory compromise, the California Dump Truck Owners Association said it has no choice but to sue the California Air Resources Board. Citing a depressed regional economy and a struggling construction industry, the CDTOA says that the state agency has expressed no empathy in the financially devastating effects that CARB’s Truck and Bus Regulation could potentially have. The Continue Reading

The California Air Resources Board announced earlier this week the availability of $19 million to support hybrid vehicle technology to help reduce emissions in the state. The Hybrid Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Program will provide vouchers on a first-come first-served basis to help California fleets purchase fuel-efficient hybrid medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. At least $2 million is reserved for public fleets, but both public and private fleets can reserve vouchers when a new vehicle is purchased. For more information regarding the voucher incentive program that details a full list of eligible vehicles Continue Reading

The latest round of good news that the California Air Resources Board is cheering contains some previously unseen surprises. Results from its latest diesel cleanup program targeting ports, trucks, trains and ships has been successful in updating 5,300 trucks through retrofits or replacement. But, in a shift from many previous programs, one-third of the trucks that received program funding are owned by owner-operators, and half of Continue Reading