CALSTART To Conduct Highway-Ferry Integration Study in San Francisco Bay Area; Analysis Will Look to Reduce Greenhouse Gases and Emissions Through an Integrated Ferry-Commuter System.

Business Editors

PASADENA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 6, 2000

CALSTART has won a contract to conduct a study examining how an expanded high speed passenger ferry system in the San Francisco Bay Area can be best integrated into an existing commuter system to reduce greenhouse gases and key pollutants such as CO2 and NOx significantly in the region.

The study is being sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation Center for Climate Change and Environmental Forecasting, the U.S. Department of Energy - Office of Heavy Vehicle Technologies, and the Gas Technology Institute.

As traffic congestion on highways and bridges reaches paralyzing heights in numerous cities in the United States, transportation planners are looking at high speed ferry operations as a means of potential relief. In the San Francisco Bay Area, a new Water Transit Authority was established which developed plans for 120 new passenger high speed ferries carrying 30,000,000 passengers per year, a significant expansion of the ferry system in the Bay Area. The CALSTART analysis will help determine the air quality impact of such an expansion. In the course of the study, CALSTART will evaluate emissions from both diesel fuel and state-of-the-art clean fuel ferries such as those powered by natural gas.

The study also will compare the ferry system emissions to those of other modes of transportation such as vehicles and buses to determine the relative impact of each mode on greenhouse gases and pollutants such as CO2, NOx and particulate matter. Results of this analysis will help planners combine different transit modes into a potential best transportation system. The CALSTART study will be extrapolated for nationwide consideration in other similar transportation scenarios.

The ferry system analysis builds on other related analyses that CALSTART conducts at airports, national parks and campuses through its Clean Transportation Solutions Group. The Group works with both public and private sector clients to help develop and implement transportation solutions through the use of clean alternative fuels.

"With over 62 million Americans living in areas with unhealthy air, we need to ensure that new or expanded transportation systems are clean, while remaining economically viable," said CALSTART President John Boesel. "This study will help us better understand the air quality impacts of ferries and to assess how their emissions can be kept as low as possible."

CALSTART is an advanced transportation technologies consortium that focuses on developing new, clean technologies and solutions in transportation. Working with private partners worldwide, CALSTART provides technology development and demonstration, market analysis, and fleet implementation services. Its expertise includes electric vehicles, natural gas vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, intelligent transportation systems (ITS), mobility services and fuel-cell technologies.