Every few months I spot the same white Toyota Prius tooling
around Los Angeles. The Prius hybrid model is already ubiquitous in
a city populated by denizens who love to feel good about
themselves, but this particular Prius is easy to spot.
The car’s owner has festooned its aerodynamic body with
stickers proclaiming the car’s eco-friendliness. A sticker on
the gas flap reads “55 MPG!” The flanks of the car
note, “Runs on gas and electricity!”
While this particular hybrid enthusiast has made sure everyone
knows about his love for fuel efficiency (and attention), bigger
fish are going about saving the world in a less conspicuous
way.
A look at the September 2004 issue of Automotive Fleet magazine
shows that major organizations and institutions are leading the
charge in alternative fuel use. That issue lists the top 100
alternative-energy technology fleets and UCLA charts at No. 72 on
the list. UCLA is the third university on the list, behind Michigan
(No. 47) and UC Davis (No. 64). The only way alternative fuel
vehicles will begin to make an impact is with their wide-scale
adoption ““ so fleets are where it has to start.
UCLA utilizes a variety of vehicles that run on alternative
fuels, including buses that run on compressed natural gas (CNG),
GEM electric vehicles (all 164 were donated by DaimlerChrysler),
and yes, even Priuses.
UCLA fleet manager Tim Pfrimmer said the addition of alternative
fuel vehicles has vastly improved the school’s fleet.
“It was a financial improvement, but it was more of an
improvement in terms of cutting down pollutants in the air,”
Pfrimmer said.
UCLA’s No. 72 ranking on the magazine’s list should
be viewed as a modest assessment of the school’s commitment
to alternative fuel use. That is because UCLA chooses not to rely
on flex fuel vehicles and bi-fuel vehicles to reach the
government’s mandate that 75 percent of all new fleet
purchases be alternative fuel vehicles, Pfrimmer said.
Flex and bi-fuel vehicles can run on both unleaded gasoline and
an alternative fuel, which is often propane or CNG. Flex and
bi-fuel vehicles are counted as alternative fuel vehicles in
Automotive Fleet’s list so “institutions will buy those
because they meet the alternative fuel mandate but don’t put
alternative fuel in them,” Pfrimmer said.
In UCLA’s fleet of 978 vehicles, 247 run on alternative
fuel. Yet, UCLA has only eight bi-fuel vehicles ““ Ford
Contours that alternate between one tank of unleaded gas and one
tank of CNG ““ and not one flex fuel vehicle.
By comparison, the U.S. Postal Service, ranked No. 1 on the
magazine’s list, has 33,983 vehicles that run on alternative
fuel, but 33,865 are flex or bi-fuel vehicles.
Now before the “˜ole Pony Express stops delivering my mail,
let me say this ““ one can’t be certain that the Postal
Service is using the flex and bi-fuel vehicles as a loophole,
solely filling up those vehicles with regular gas, but there is no
way to regulate their use.
“There are plenty of people who do it on that list,”
Pfrimmer asserted.
Scanning the magazine’s list, many other institutions that
rank ahead of UCLA employ flex and bi-fuel vehicles. Ironically, or
maybe not so ironically, the U.S. Department of Energy (No. 10 on
the list) has 2,884 vehicles that run on flex or bi-fuel out of its
2,972 alternative fuel vehicles.
Most impressive of all is the UC system’s strong showing
on the list. Besides UCLA and UC Davis, UC Riverside (No. 86) and
UC Santa Cruz (No. 100) also make the list.
To keep all of its alternative fuel vehicles running, UCLA has
electric charging stations and an on-campus CNG filling station,
where the school’s 64 CNG vehicles are serviced.
In the past, the CNG station was open for limited public use,
but as UCLA’s demand for CNG increased the station was closed
to the public. But, UCLA is building a new CNG station solely for
the school’s 17 CNG buses at the new transit facility near
Lot 36.
The new fueling station will be open around the end of the
school year, and then “the majority of the load will be off
the current station, so that station will be more public
friendly,” Pfrimmer said.
As an aside: Pfrimmer is in the market for a new Prius and said
he’s going for one in Millennium Silver Metallic. Personally,
I like it in Seaside Pearl. The color reminds me of foggy spring
afternoons in San Francisco.
Watch out for that trolley!
If trolleys are the retro version of fuel efficiency, and
hybrids are the nowtro version of fuel efficiency, then hydrogen is
the futro version of fuel efficiency.
To that end, UCLA could ensure it’s one step ahead of the
guy with the emblazoned white Prius by approving plans to build a
hydrogen fueling station near the on-campus CNG station. Pfrimmer
said he hopes a decision will be made by the end of the calendar
year and also said the school needs to make sure automobile
manufacturers are going to champion hydrogen fuel cell-based
vehicles before the school sinks millions of dollars into the
operation.
UCLA chemical engineering Professor Vasilios Manousiouthakis is
spearheading the cause, and is involved in the university’s
talks to build the hydrogen station. The school is meeting with the
DOE and an oil company. If the station is built, Manousiouthakis
would like to incorporate it into the classes he teaches.
“I am convinced that hydrogen is the future for
alternative fuel,” Manousiouthakis said. “Having a
hydrogen fueling station would put the campus on the hydrogen
freeway.”
Manousiouthakis said UCLA is also in talks with DaimlerChrysler
to bring a hydrogen fuel cell car to the campus. The vehicle would
be charged off site, or at UCLA’s own hydrogen station if
that ever materializes.
Manousiouthakis envisions hydrogen fuel cell vehicles on the
road in significant numbers in 10 years. But until then, it’s
up to UCLA to continue to be forward thinking, and blaze the
trail.
If only to stay ahead of posturing Angelinos who think they are
saving the world.
E-mail Miller at dmiller@media.ucla.edu