vehicles

Package delivery company UPS has purchased 130 next generation hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) to add to its growing alternative-fuel vehicle (AFV) fleet. The 130 hybrids all will be deployed in 2011, with 30 going to New York and New Jersey and 100 to California.

UPS estimates these vehicles will save 66,085 gallons of fuel and 671 metric tonnes of CO2 annually, representing a 35% improvement in fuel economy. That’s the equivalent of 128 passenger cars being taken off the road.

The NSW and Australian Governments have announced major funding of almost $50 million to improve transport and freight links in country NSW.

Almost $10 million has been allocated to build new overtaking lanes on the Newell Highway, which will cut down travel times and improve road safety.

Rare Consulting, a division of infrastructure consultancy pitt&sherry, is working with the NSW government’s Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) agency to build an evidence bank demonstrating the performance of environmental technologies.

“Over the last few years, a lot of companies with light and heavy vehicles in NSW have been looking at how they can cut back on energy consumption,” said Rebecca Williamson, consultant with Rare/pitt&sherry.

“Despite this,” she says, “relatively little has been done to evaluate and document the real-world economic and environmental performance of heavy vehicle technologies in Australia. Overseas programs have looked at these issues—but differences in factors such as road conditions and vehicle types mean that Australia can’t necessarily apply the results of overseas trials and presume the outcomes will be similar.”