[Editors] News Advisory: 23 enviro-friendly vehicles at MIT Friday

[Elizabeth Thomson]

MIT News Office
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Room 11-400
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA  02139-4307
Phone: 617-253-2700
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/www

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News Advisory: Caravan of 23 enviro-friendly vehicles to travel to MIT this Friday
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For Immediate Release
MONDAY, SEP. 13, 2004


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Editors/Reporters: You are invited to cover this event and attend a reception for the media that will include speakers from MIT and elsewhere talking about environmentally friendly vehicles.

When: Friday, Sept. 17, 5-5:45 pm; caravan will travel from the Larz Anderson Museum of Transportation in Brookline to MIT's Kresge parking lot. Reception for media and public address at 6pm, Kresge Lot.

For more information go to www.altwheels.org. or contact Alison Sander, 617-868-1582, info at altwheels.org or Elizabeth Thomson, MIT News Office, 617-258-5402, thomson at mit.edu
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CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--New England's first alternative transportation caravan with more than 23 vehicles powered by alternative, hybrid and other more efficient, sustainable fuel systems will wind its way from the Larz Anderson Museum of Transportation in Brookline to MIT in Cambridge this Friday.  

The caravan, which will be escorted by an alternatively fueled state police car, kicks off this weekend's AltWheels Festival, the region's largest alternative transportation festival. This year the event is co-hosted by MIT, home to several laboratories working on environmentally friendly alternative vehicles.

The five-mile caravan route will end at MIT's Kresge parking lot, where the public is invited to come free of charge to learn about the latest innovations, as well as some historical examples, in alternative transportation. 

"The goal of the Friday caravan and weekend AltWheels festival is to demonstrate to the public that alternative transportation is being deployed and is flourishing throughout New England," said AltWheels Festival organizer Alison Sander. "Not only is this region a hotbed of research and technology in developing sustainable clean fuel sources, but vehicles deploying these technologies are being put to practice by some of the larger fleets in the region."

The AltWheels caravan is currently scheduled to include the following vehicles:

-- State Police escort from a Ford Econoline E250 CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) van
-- A hydrogen fuel cell vehicle built in New England- actually designed and built on a $25,000 bet with the EPA!
-- A Mass Highway Ford F-150 pickup truck fueled by CNG. Mass Highway has one of the largest alternative fleets in New England
-- A 2004 Toyota hybrid Prius operated by PlanetTran-New England's first alternative taxi service. The Prius is a gasoline/electric hybrid capable of getting up to 52MPG in city driving 
-- A Harvard University biodiesel vehicle.  Harvard has committed to switching its transit fleet to biodiesel
-- A 1997 Ford Crown Victoria cruiser powered by CNG operated by the Sgt. James Rooney of the Somerville Police Department
-- Boston Public Health Commission's 2002 Toyota Prius--the Commission operates a fleet of 5 Toyota Prius passenger cars 
-- Project Biobus, a yellow diesel 1991 GMC 71 passenger school bus fueled by biodiesel/used vegetable oil.  This bus was converted by 12 Middlebury College students and will begin a 17 city tour with this Boston visit.  A previous bus converted by the group to get back to school last year was featured by CNN, NPR and USA Today 
-- The Solectria Citivan, an electricity-powered delivery vehicle
-- American Honda GX, the top selling CNG vehicle
-- A Massport CNG passenger bus
-- Councillor at Large Felix Arroyo driving his biodiesel vehicle
-- An MBTA Clean Diesel passenger bus.  The MBTA has now become the largest alternative fuel user in New England
-- The Tufts Nerd Girls solar car
-- The MIT solar car club vehicle
-- The New England Aquarium CNG fueled outreach van
-- The Zipcar Mini Cooper 
-- A Massport electric truck
-- The City of Keene New Hampshire biodiesel F-350 truck representing Granite State Clean Cities
-- Ford's 2005 Hybrid SUV, Escape-one of the first hybrid SUVs
-- The DaimlerChrysler Smart car, one of Europe's best selling alternative vehicles
-- The William Ellis Corbin Sparrow electric car
-- And -- a real blast from the past -- the Stanley Steamer steam-powered vehicle, model circa 1890

Recent traffic studies show that Boston ranks in the top 10 most congested cities in the U.S. and Massachusetts is rated by the E.P.A. as one of the non-attainment states for air quality. The idea of clean sustainable fuels is beginning to catch on in New England -- from private individuals buying more hybrid-fuel passenger cars, to large public transit providers using eco-friendly vehicles, to major conversions to altfuel fleets by municipalities, universities and businesses. 

Major universities such as Harvard, MIT and Tufts have taken steps to reduce auto emissions in and about their campuses. Public agencies such as Massport, Mass Highway, the MBTA, the City of Keene, the Boston Public Health Commission and others have taken leadership positions in addressing the need to reduce harmful transportation-related pollutants in their fleets. 

The Altwheels festival is a one-stop showcase for the best alternative transportation options available in New England - including fleets that use alternative vehicles, concept vehicles and commercially available options. The inspiration for the Festival grew from a New England regional environment study by Connect-us, an AltWheels co-host. The survey found that one of the highest impact environmental improvements in the near term would derive from greater public understanding of our transportation choices and a shift to lower hydrocarbon emission options. The AltWheels Transportation Festival was created as a first step towards achieving this goal and is today sponsored by more than 70 organizations, sponsors and participating companies. 

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