Tuesday, February 22, 2011
With help from Chesapeake Energy Corporation, SporTran, the public transit system for Shreveport, Louisiana, gave a new look to the largest technological overhaul the fleet has seen since the early 1960s.
SporTran's first five compressed natural gas (CNG) buses arrived last month. With funds provided by Chesapeake, they were given graphic wraps touting the benefits of natural gas.
"At Chesapeake, we are proud of this partnership between the city of Shreveport and SporTran. They have taken a key role in leading the city of Shreveport toward transitioning our transportation system to carbon-light natural gas," said Paul Pratt, Chesapeake's Director – Corporate Development. "The abundance of economically recoverable natural gas in our country provides an opportunity to successfully address our economic, environmental and energy challenges with an American and much lower-carbon fuel. Through the use of natural gas, America has the ability to make large cuts in harmful emissions and create hundreds of thousands of domestic jobs."
In addition, the buses will save the city and SporTran money on fuel and maintenance costs, as well as support the area's economy by using a local natural resource.
The new buses will hit the streets in March and will be followed by nine additional buses by the end of summer. SporTran says its vision is to convert its entire fleet to run on CNG.
Click here to view a video about the bus wraps!