SEPTA Lying. Again.
In other news, the sky is blue, birds fly, and Mayor John Street is about as useful as the Pope’s testicles.
Every time a SEPTA bus zooms by, leaving a plume of putrid exhaust in its wake, people on street corners are reminded of our poor air quality and reliance on foreign fuels…
Despite a small dip in crude oil costs since the cease-fire in Lebanon, rising demand in India and China and ongoing violence in the Middle East have pushed per barrel costs to $70 and above, meaning biodiesel — a mixture of vegetable oil or grease and diesel — is now no more expensive than regular diesel….
So, SEPTA, why not give biodiesel a try?
SEPTA spokesman Richard Maloney hadn’t heard of the grant until a reporter told him, but even after reviewing the specifics, he declared that no one can provide the five-county agency the 15 million gallons of diesel fuel a year it needs.
But a few calls to providers proved the opposite is true. Massachusetts-based World Energy sends more biofuel to Philadelphia by rail car than anywhere else in the country. An official at a biodiesel company in Pennsylvania (who asked to remain anonymous in case the company applies for a city contract) says it could easily fill an order SEPTA’s size. In fact, within a year, Pennsylvania could be the nation’s leading producer of biodiesel, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection…
Still, since SEPTA gets its fuel via pipeline directly from the Sunoco refinery in South Philly, Maloney says, it has no place to mix the “bio” parts with the diesel.
“We will not be applying for the fundamental reason that it is at the moment logistically impossible for us to mix the fuels at the capacity we need,” he says.
That may be the case now, but Sunoco spokesperson Gerald Davis said the company would consider carrying biodiesel if customers like SEPTA requested it. (SEPTA says it hasn’t asked for it because Sunoco doesn’t offer it.) …
But the real problem isn’t biodiesel, says Lance Haver, the city’s director of consumer affairs. It’s SEPTA.
Although SEPTA’s service planning and purchasing departments are supposed to research the best fueling options, Haver would like to see an environmental officer dedicated to these solutions.
“There is no one at SEPTA who is in charge of greening SEPTA and that is an indication of how little they care,” he says. “If they were really concerned about these issues, you wouldn’t have to talk to the same person who tells you why the trains are late.”
“Oh we couldn’t POSSIBLY phase in biodiesel, because that would require change. And while our slogan is ‘Serious About Change’, what we mean is “Serious About YOUR Change”. To be more specific, serious about not giving you any, and keeping all those quarters, nickels, and dimes for ourselves.
“But actual change in the way we do business? IS. TO. LAUGH. Next you’ll want us to do away with the token system, run trains after 10:30 pm, or re-open the Germantown Avenue trolley line!”
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May 21st, 2007 at 4:02 pm
[...] goes on at SEPTA, an agency that for too long has run roughshod over the needs of Philadelphians. It’s the same agency whose spokesman claims that ““We will not be applying for the fun…. It’s the same agency that blames the riders for not being able to understand SEPTA’s [...]