Originally Posted by cryogenic
Since Biodiesel is being mentioned, almost all of my city's public transportation buses are running on Biodiesel and the smaller van-style buses (Ford F-650's I think?) are running on propane. On top of that we even have a few electric trolleys that have small diesel engines in them (single cylinder, I believe) to circulate cooling for the batteries and also provide some battery charging. I have to say I'm at least somewhat impressed that they're taking at least SOME initiative to reduce pollution.
You'd be amazed at the amount of interest the makers of heavy duty vehicles have in biodiesel and hybrid electrics either singularly or combined. It's not just to reduce pollution but to save money. Heavy duty vehicles are incredibly expensive to operate and anything that can be done to alleviate that cost is being explored.
It's also good public relations.
Stuart Black