Transportation
It is predicted that within the next 50 years there will be more than one billion vehicles on the planet’s roads as manufacturers produce more than 10 million new vehicles each year. Currently, the 260 million combustion engine vehicles in the U.S. emit vast amounts of air pollution, are noisy, and require plenty of maintenance—which generates even more pollutants. Xanterra operates a fleet of several hundred buses, cars, trucks, snowmobiles, boats, snow coaches, shuttles, and other vehicles.
The Industry's First Voluntary CAFÉ Standard
Xanterra's most significant transportation initiative is its CAFÉ (corporate average fuel economy) standard. Under this initiative, by 2015, Xanterra is voluntarily seeking to increase the fuel efficiency of its annual fleet vehicle purchases to 35 miles per gallon (combined city/highway) for all new vehicals purchased.
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In 2002, Xanterra’s actual CAFÉ was 18.8 miles per gallon. By 2007, the company increased its CAFÉ by 8.0 percent to 20.4 miles per gallon. In between that period, Xanterra purchased many new hybrid and efficient vehicles, which resulted in a 19.1 percent increase in companywide annual fuel efficiency in 2005. However, since 2005, the required purchases of new trucks, passenger vans, and maintenance vehicles have resulted in a 12.1 percent decrease in annual average fuel economy. To address this decline, Xanterra now has engaged the Environmental Affairs Department in assisting properties in locating and approving the most efficient vehicle in its class. Corresponding to the CAFÉ increase, total gasoline and diesel consumption has increased 20.5 and 7.5 percent, respectively, from 2000 to 2006. Again, the suspected cause of this is the required purchases of light duty trucks and passenger vans, which are relatively inefficient. |
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Using the Department of Energy's Fuel Economy Web site, we have formulated a policy mandating purchase of the most fuel-efficient vehicles in their class. In addition, Xanterra's strict maintenance schedule ensures that all vehicles remain at their most fuel-efficient.
In the past few years Xanterra's companywide fleet has grown to include:
- Four hybrid electric Toyota Priuses that average more than 52 miles per gallon and are rated by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) as the “greenest vehicles on the road” (all rated PZEVs, Partial Zero Emission Vehicles)
- 54 zero-emission (curbside) electric vehicles, including 12 Ford TH!NK vehicles
- 79 cleaner-burning, four-stroke engine snowmobiles and 42 four-stroke engine boats that are 65 percent more fuel-efficient than the two-stroke machines they replaced
- 16 Toyota Echos that average more than 42 miles per gallon (all rated ULEVs, Ultra-Low Emission Vehicles)
- Seven new Toyota Corollas that average more than 40 miles per gallon (hwy) (all rated ULEVs)
- 20 buses retrofitted with hydrous alcohol injection systems that increase fuel economy by 19.7 percent
- One new Ford Escape hybrid SUV, the first hybrid SUV in the world; it averages 40 miles per gallon (hwy)
- Four new, clean-burning, propane-fueled maintenance utility vehicles
- Two propane-burning passenger shuttles and four electric-to-propane retrofits of vehicles
- Numerous diesel vehicles running on a 20 percent blend of biodiesel and petroleum diesel
Clean Marina Certifications
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To date, Maumee Bay State Park, Geneva Marina, and Everglades National Park have all received their respective state’s Department of Environmental Protection Agency’s “Clean Marina” certifications. Xanterra’s Everglades facility was the first federally owned marina to achieve such certification. The Clean Marina program was developed to help educate marinas, boatyards and boaters on the importance of protecting waterways and the environment. Participation in the program is voluntary and businesses must meet rigorous pollution control standards that consist of stringent requirements in boat fueling, cleaning, maintenance, waste management, sensitive species management, and emergency response measures. |
