by Shane Henson — August 15, 2011—Facilities managers in charge of their company’s fleet of vehicles will benefit from the Obama Administration’s recently announced fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas pollution standards for work trucks, buses, and other heavy-duty vehicles. Under the new program, trucks and buses built in 2014 through 2018 will reduce oil consumption by a projected 530 million barrels and greenhouse gas pollution by approximately 270 million metric tons.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed the standards in coordination with the automotive industry and other stakeholders, including environmental groups and the state of California. The joint DOT/EPA program will include a range of targets that are specific to the diverse vehicle types. Vehicles are divided into three major categories: combination tractors (semi-trucks), heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans, and vocational vehicles (like transit buses and refuse trucks).
Within each of those categories, even more specific targets are laid out based on the design and purpose of the vehicle. DOT officials say this flexible structure allows serious but achievable fuel efficiency improvement goals charted for each year and for each vehicle category and type. By the 2018 model year, certain semi-trucks will achieve up to an approximately 20 percent reduction in fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, saving up to 4 gallons of fuel for every 100 miles traveled.
The standards are expected to yield an estimated $50 billion in net benefits over the life of model year 2014 to 2018 vehicles, and to result in significant long-terms savings for vehicle owners and operators. A semi-truck operator could pay for the technology upgrades in under a year and realize net savings of $73,000 through reduced fuel costs over the truck’s useful life, say DOT officials.
