Bull Runner Going Green

With the large student base at USF, the not so ideal parking situation, and the size of our campus, the Bull Runner provides a great service for student and faculty to utilize. The Bull Runner consists of 30 vehicles that operate over a 6 route transit system. Of these 30, 13 are transit style, 9 of which Bluebird with Cummings engine and 6 Thomas with Cummings engine. The other 17 are Cutaway style, consisting of 11 Ford, 7.3 power stroke engines, and 6 Chevrolet, 6.5 Dura-max engines. In 2002 the Bull Runner went 100% green by introducing the use of biodiesel fuels. The biodiesel initiative is beneficial for a number of reasons, it stimulates local economies and reduces our dependence on foreign sources. USF uses environmentally friendly fuels that are derived form renewable sources. Sources of biofuels include vegetable oils such as rapeseed, corn, mustard, soybean, sunflower, macadamia, coconut, and peanut seeds. Chicken fat is another form of biofuel that can be used because of the glycerin that can be extracted and converted into a clean burning fuel. This is all done through a process called transesterification.

Transesterification is the chemical process in which triglyceride lipid fat molecules can be shattered into four molecules using methanol and caustic soda as a catalyst (BiodieselUSF). The chart below assists in breaking down this process:

Most combustion ignition petroleum engines can run off of biofuels, with little engine modifications needed. Biodiesel can be mixed with regular fuels with mixture ratings such as B20, which consist of a 1:5 ratio of biodiesel to fuel. However the ideal is no mixture of fuels, strictly biodiesel rated at B100 burns at the cleanest possible rate. Upon the conversion to biofuels, minimum problems were presented and the only real consistent problem was the constant need to replace fuel filters. Depending on the make of the vehicle, the older fuel filters would lead to problems including broken down engines and clogged fuel filters. However, some immediate benefits we saw were the elimination of black clouds being released from exhaust and an overall improvement in the environment, especially immediately surrounding bus stops. Unlike biodiesel, standard petroleum bases fuels release and array of green house gasses and pollutants into the atmosphere, including unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, sulfates, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and particulate matter.

The biodiesel start up shed a positive light on USF and its going green movement. USF was one of the earlier universities to roll such a large transportation system into a green fleet, this lead to a Green Fleet award from the city of Tampa Bay. Since going green has many positive impacts, other colleges and universities looked to USF for guidance on implementing their own green transportation. Meeting the minimum EPA standards for emissions do not seem to be a problem for USF, who falls well below the mark. Not only does USF have one of the cleanest bus transit systems, it also has many electric vehicles around campus. With the implementation of the Bull Tracker, students can now use their mobile devices to track the busses through AVL or automatic vehicle location system. They can check arrival times and even download a live map that tracks their specific bus. Students often find that they purchase very costly parking permits only to run into a terrible parking situation. This along with rising gas prices has created a jump in the number of riders on the bull runner. For students who do not have a reliable form of transportation, with an active USF ID card, students get to ride the HART because of an agreement USF and HART came to in 2005. All of the Bull Runner routes connect to at least one HART local bus route, which makes it very easy for students to leave campus without driving. "The Digital Bullpen." The Digital Bullpen. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Aug. 2013. <http://digitalbullpen.com/2011/04/29/major-story-3-bull-runner-ridershipincreasing/>. "Transportation." University of South Florida. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Aug. 2013. <http://usfweb2.usf.edu/parking_services/bullrunner.asp>. "Evaluation of USF Bio-Diesel Fueled Bull-Runner Service." Evaluation of USF BioDiesel Fueled Bull-Runner Service. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Aug. 2013. <http://www.nctr.usf.edu/html/527-01-2.htm>.