Fleets to Feds: “Give us a rea$on to be green.”

TORONTO — If the Federal government wants truckers to help fight greenhouse-gas emissions, they should throw out a carrot or two first.

That way, fleets will invest in retrofit technologies such as low-rolling resistance tires, auxiliary power units and aerodynamic trailer add-ons.

That’s the gist of a joint announcement from the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) and Pollution Probe.

The groups agree that federal fuel-economy initiatives modeled after the American version are worthy, but added greenhouse-emission-reduction goals could be met faster if the government made retrofitting worthwhile through incentives.

“We fully support the development of sound environmental policy and programs that promote fuel efficiency and GHG emissions associated with heavy-duty vehicle use,” says David Bradley, president and CEO of CTA. “While the proposed regulation is an advance in the right direction, we do not think that it alone will get us to where we can be and where we want to be as an industry.”

Adds Pollution Probe’s CEO Bob Oliver: “Both the National Academies of Sciences in the United States and Sustainable Development Technology Canada have found that through utilizing the full suite of fuel-saving technologies including transmission, trailer and tire designs, fuel consumption and GHG emissions could be reduced by up to 50 percent in most truck configurations. 

“By contrast, the proposed regulations are targeting a reduction of 7 to 20 percent."

Both organizations say there are a growing number of Canadian companies already manufacturing many of the GHG-reducing technologies.

They say Canada has an opportunity to lead not only in terms of effective policy but in the development of a new manufacturing sector.

At the same time as it called for incentives, the CTA released the results of real-world tests that prove the efficacy of low-rolling-resistance dual and single wide-base tires, trailer side skirts and speed limiters – so-called enviroTruck technologies.

The tests involved two British Columbia fleets, Clark Freightways of Coquitlam and Excel Transportation of Prince George.

The Clark fleet measured the fuel-savings of low-rolling-resistant dual tires and trailer side skirts. One tractor also had its speed limiter activated and set at 100.6 km/h.

Excel Transportation evaluated the use of single wide-base tires (operating under special permit) on two 8-axle, B-train combinations hauling wood chips between Fraser Lake and Prince George.

Clark saw a fuel efficiency gain of 6.3 percent while Excel Transportation reported a 5.1 percent gain.

“This technology is not smoke and mirrors like some of the so-called plans for reducing GHG,” says Bradley.

“It is a serious and practical way to accelerate the penetration of more fuel-efficient and less-polluting technology into the marketplace.”