Eco-transport clears Banff skies

Jason Hardy is no greenhorn when it comes to sustainable tourism transportation.  The Banff Airporter owner used clean-burning natural gas to fuel his shuttle buses for five years, until costly technical problems prompted a search for a better alternative.  He's now switched to diesel vehicles that are using an ever-increasing amount of biodiesel.

Banff Airporter

"As a transportation company, we burn lots of fuel," says Hardy, whose fleet uses some 25,000 litres of diesel a month transporting visitors between the Calgary International Airport and Banff.  "We're trying to make a difference and reduce our environmental footprint, so we're interested in alternative fuels."

The biodiesel in the fleet's fuel mix - which will increase from five per cent (B-5) now to 20 per cent (B-20) later this summer - currently comes already blended from Alberta sources of canola and rendering plant fat.  But Banff Airporter is working with Red Deer College to develop a bioreactor on the company's Banff premises, using cooking grease from local restaurants and hotels as a biodiesel feedstock.

"It's a win-win situation," says Hardy.  "We would be recycling a waste product that restaurants normally pay to get rid of, and at the same time we'd be saving money and reducing our environmental impact."

Transportation companies are among the biggest energy users in Alberta's tourism industry.  With soaring fuel prices, it makes economic sense to run the most efficient vehicles possible.  Firms that take a greener approach are also finding it's becoming a competitive advantage amongst tourists increasingly concerned about climate change. "I think if things like price are equal, more people will make choices based on who is making an environmental difference," says Hardy.

The Banff Airporter isn't the only sustainable tourist transportation game in town.  The Town of Banff recently launched a fleet of four biodiesel/electric hybrid buses.  This combination of electric drive and biodiesel mechanical system is expected to cut greenhouse gas emissions by about 20 per cent compared with conventional buses.

Down the highway in Canmore, Marcus Gorton found it made perfect sense to combine his degree in sustainable design with his experience in the taxi industry.  So last year, he launched EcoCab, with a starter fleet of two hybrid taxis - a Toyota Prius and a Camry.  On the road for 100,000 kilometres a year, they consume about half the gas and spew less than half the pollutants of regular cabs.

eco-Cab

"Customers love it.  A lot of locals are very environmentally friendly, and tourists are very interested in them; most have never been in a hybrid vehicle before," says Gorton. "I believe in doing business in the most environmentally-friendly way possible." Like Banff Airporter, EcoCab prints its promotional material on recycled paper and uses green cleaning products.

Car rental companies are also responding to growing public environmental concerns. For example, the triumvirate of Enterprise, National and Alamo now allows customers to purchase carbon offsets when they rent vehicles.  For about $1.25 per rental, matched by the companies, customers finance the planting of carbon-absorbing trees, expected to offset about half their vehicle emissions.  The three car rental firms are also increasing the number of hybrid and E-85 ethanol vehicles in their fleets.