Technology Briefs - June 29 - July 5
The Latest Headlines:
- Oregon Offers Ton-Mile Filing Online
- Pa. to Offer Anti-Idling Funds to Fleets
- EPA Announces Grant to Reduce Bus Emissions in Mexico
- Pa. to Offer Anti-Idling Funds to Fleets
Oregon Offers Ton-Mile Filing Online
The Oregon Department of Transportation announced the launch of a service allowing trucking companies to go online to file weight-distance tax reports.Companies could fill in an on-screen application with their total Oregon miles and other information — license plate, unit number, make, declared weight and number of axles if more than 80,000 pounds, ODOT said.
Once the data are entered, users can see the total tax based on that truck’s tax rate, can save reports to be finished later, can pay by credit card, and can print out reports, said the DOT.
Another service, Oregon Scale Crossings and Reports, gives fleets monthly reports of scale crossing information. Transport Topics
Pa. to Offer Anti-Idling Funds to Fleets
Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection said it was making small-business grants available July 1 to select trucking companies to increase the use of onboard anti-idling technologies, a move that a spokeswoman for the department said could have energy efficiency and pollution prevention benefits.Arleen Shulman, chief of the mobile source section at the state’s bureau of air quality, said the grants were expected to be offered to Pennsylvania trucking companies that employ fewer than 100 people through the state’s Small Business Advantage Program.
She said the state agreed to help small businesses pay half the cost of deploying idling-reduction technology, as an incentive for truckers to curb unnecessary idling.
Shulman said the grants would apply toward the purchase of auxiliary power units that could cost thousands of dollars. The grant would pay half the cost of the technology — up to a maximum $15,000.
“It could be a model for other states to think about,” Shulman said. Kevin Kinnaird
EPA Announces Grant to Reduce Bus Emissions in Mexico
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said that it would grant $350,000 to retrofit diesel buses in an effort to reduce emissions in the Mexican capital of Mexico City, the Associated Press reported.PA chief Michael Leavitt was joined by officials from the World Resources Institute, as well as local and national environmental agencies, when he made the announcement on June 21, AP said.
The project involves installing catalytic converters and particulate traps on 20 buses that will run on low-sulfur fuel.
Pollution from the millions of vehicles on the city’s streets is trapped by the mountains surrounding Mexico City, creating unhealthy air, AP said. Transport Topics
