Mineta San José International Airport (SJC) has announced $1.3 million in funding for two projects to enhance the airport's publicly-accessible compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station and provide more incentives to assist owners of taxis and shuttle vans to convert vehicles to CNG.

The CNG fueling station at the airport will increase its capacity efficiency, reliability, and accessibility both for the airport's fleets and the general public. The improved fueling stations will be ready by the end of this year.

Regarding SJC's support for CNG conversions, SJC's Alternative Fuel Grant Program will support up to 55 vehicles with incentive grants of $4,000 per taxi and $8,000 per shuttle van to fleet owners that are permitted to operate at the airport.

CNG taxis are allowed to operate every day at the airport while gasoline-fueled taxis are allowed only on alternate days. This benefit means that up to 130 vehicles at the airport operate on natural gas today, compared to 30 in mid-2005. These vehicles account for 40 percent of all taxi trips, compared to 6 percent in 2005. In the case of shuttles, it's claimed that up to 1.3 million gallons of diesel have been saved, which means reduced exhaust emissions of about 70 tons.

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[Source: NGV]