Car rental firms using bio diesel

Enterprise Holdings, who count Alamo, National and Enterprise in their company, have announced plans this week to start using bio-diesel for all their shuttle buses across 50 locations in North America. Around 600 of their courtesy buses will start to use a minimum of five per cent bio-diesel (B5) and the firm will convert buses at nine locations to 20 per cent bio-diesel (B20) immediately. This is the first step to Enterprise making their entire shuttle bus fleet running on 20 per cent bio-diesel within the next five years.

Enterprise aims to have all their buses on the B5 formula by the end of this spring and more than half of their fleet running on B20 by the end of 2011. The nine locations that will start to run B20 almost immediately will be Chicago, Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, San Diego, San Antonio, Rayleigh and Denver. This is because the bio-diesel in already centrally stored here making it easier to access.

Bio-diesel is becoming more and more popular with companies that are trying to reduce their carbon footprint. It is largely produced from waste products such as animal fat, plant oil and used cooking oil. The fuel burns clean, making it safer for the environment, but there is not enough being produced at the moment. Other companies are also starting to look at alternatives to transport and many have invested in hybrid vehicles and/or electric cars as cleaner option for logistics needs.