Trucking news and briefs for Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020:
Estes adds 50 renewable natural gas trucks to Calif. fleet
Estes Express Lines (No. 12 on the CCJ Top 250) will add 50 new renewable natural gas trucks fueled by Clean Energy Fuels Corp.’s Redeem fuel.
The carrier is acquiring the Class 8 natural gas trucks equipped with the Cummins Westport ISX12N engine for its California fleet and is expected to use an approximate 2.8 million gallons of RNG over the seven-year contract.
Clean Energy’s Redeem was the first commercially available RNG vehicle fuel, the company says, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions by at least 70%.
Estes purchased the trucks through Clean Energy’s Zero Now program, which brings the price of a natural gas truck at parity with a diesel truck, while offering a guaranteed fuel discount for the duration of the agreement. For Estes, this represents a geographical expansion of its current 21 ultra clean truck fleet currently operating out of Texas, and also fueled by Redeem.
“Switching to trucks fueled with ultra-low carbon fuel is vital to improving air quality and fighting climate change in the regions that we serve,” said Estes Chief Executive Officer and President Rob Estes. “Clean Energy’s Zero Now program has enabled us to switch to cleaner fuel and engine technologies that make financial sense – so it’s a win on several levels.”
ITI launches new training for looming HOS changes
Instructional Technologies Inc. (ITI) created a new driver training resource for the changes coming to the hours of service rules on Sept. 29.
The offering includes an updated Pro-Tread Hours of Service online course, a free training video that covers the changes in driving regulations, a webinar discussing practical applications, and a printable poster to provide information on the new rules to drivers, managers and dispatchers.
Current ITI clients can assign, track and document course completion with ITI’s Sentix learning management system. Fleets that are not clients can access the course free as a video, but it will not include documentation of completion.
ITI is also hosting a live 30-minute webinar at 10 a.m. PDT on Tuesday, September 15 with ITI’s Senior Training Specialist Roy Broomfield. Registered participants will also have access to a video of the presentation.
