Today’s impromptu effort to change a little bitty corner of the world
Dear Dean Transportation:
Today (May 8th) there are about one-dozen Dean charter buses parked on Pere Marquette Street in Lansing (possibly related to Mitt Romney’s Lansing speech?) These buses have been idling for more than an hour with no occupants. It seems a tremendous waste of fuel, an unnecessary release of pollutants, and increases in carbon monoxide and other unhealthy byproducts that drift into the businesses, offices (mine included) and pedestrians along the street.
If Dean has no idling policy, it might be a worthwhile endeavor — both from a business/cost perspective and a good neighbor perspective.
Thank you for your time
Hugh McDiarmid Jr.
(We’ll share any response from Dean in a future update. As an aside, many other states have idling laws. Michigan does not.)
Comments are closed.
Good Afternoon, Mr. McDiarmid.
As a true advocate for reducing our reliance on fossil fuel - I greatly appreciate your email. As much as we invest in technology and set policies to reduce emissions - many times it is these types of communications that have the greatest impact.
At Dean Trailways and Dean Transportation our commitment is to be the most eco-friendly transportation company in the country. Every day we strive to be innovative in the ways we can be environmentally responsible. We have invest heavily in training, technology and alternative energy to reduce our fuel use and emissions. We have also been fortunate to receive recognition on a state and national level for our efforts. Please know that yesterday’s level of idling was in direct violation of our company’s idle policy.
As a Board Member of the Greater Lansing Area Clean Cities, I take pride in our efforts to make Mid-Michigan less reliant on fossil fuel and improve its air quality.
Please know that I will be addressing this personally with our team and that we are making every effort to reduce our emissions and fuel use.
Thank you again!
Patrick Dean
Dean Transportation
Attached are a few links to learn more about our efforts:
http://www.motorweek.org/features/green_motoring/clean_cities_success_hybrid_school_buses
http://www.schoolbusfleet.com/Channel/Green-School-Bus/Articles/2012/05/Green-Fleets-Across-America-2012/Page/2.aspx
http://www.schoolbusfleet.com/Channel/Contractors/News/2012/04/11/TV-show-features-Mich-contractor-s-hybrid-buses.aspx
http://deanschoolbus.com/green-technology
Thank you Patrick!
I look forward to meeting with you, either by phone or maybe a cup of coffee. And we’ll update readers as warranted.
Hugh McDiarmid