(Credit: Pixabay)The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have started a program to incentivize using zero emissions trucks for the transport of goods.
The Clean Truck Fund, which is being launched this month, will require cargo owners to pay up to $20 per loaded container hauled by drayage trucks out of the ports’ terminals, but exemptions will be made for shipments carried by zero emissions trucks and, under some circumstances, low-nitrogen oxide trucks. The program has been implemented to boost deployment of the zero emissions vehicles and improve infrastructure at the ports.
The Clean Truck Fund is expected to generate $90 million in the first year, according to the ports. They say the money collected through the program will be invested to increase sustainability and efficiency of the transport system in and around the ports, including adding charging and fueling points.
Drayage trucks are generally diesel operated, heavy duty vehicles that transport containers and bulk freight short distances between the port and rail facilities, distribution centers and other nearby locations. Trucks are the largest source of the ports’ greenhouse gas emissions and the second highest source of nitrogen oxide, according to the ports.
There are around 20,000 drayage trucks registered to the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports, according to the Daily Breeze.
A clean truck program by the San Pedro Bay ports was started in 2008 and has reduced diesel emissions from trucks by as much as 97% compared to 2005 levels. The ports have set a goal to achieve zero emissions drayage trucking by 2035 and the Clean Truck Fund rate will continue through that year.
Outside company PortCheck will collect the rates and cargo owners must register with the company prior to pick up or drop off of shipments.
With automakers ramping up battery production for electric vehicles and with goals to improve the sustainability of heavy equipment becoming more popular, similar programs for transport are being initiated. WattEV is a company that is trying to help expand the use of clean trucks and charging infrastructure through its truck-as-a-service program. The company recently ordered 50 electric trucks from Volvo and it plans to provide access to the trucks to shippers and carriers, including routes around the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports.
