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It seems like such a simple idea. Stop trucks from polluting as they idle at rest stops by offering electrical, heating
and air-conditioning hookups - just like at an RV park.
Throw in Internet access, pay-per-view movies and satellite TV and drivers may never have to leave their cabs.
Truckers would be happy and the air would be cleaner - at least that is the hope of the folks at the state Department
of Environmental Protection, which helped bring the system called IdleAire to New Jersey.
"It will mean better public health and reduced fuel consumption," said DEP Commissioner Bradley Campbell. "It's a
common-sense initiative."
The $1.5 million installation at the Travel Centers of America truck stop in Paulsboro in Gloucester County, at the
southern end of the state, was funded by a private-public partnership. IdleAire, which is based in Knoxville, Tenn.,
put up $500,000, and $1 million came from a federal Clean Air Act settlement with Coastal Eagle Point Oil Co., which
has a refinery in Gloucester County.
The IdleAire system targets long-haul truckers, those driving tractor-trailers, who typically live in their rigs on
multi-day runs. Most often, they keep their engines running during layovers, using the engine as a source of power
to run everything from heaters to televisions and microwave ovens.
"Truck idling consumes about 1 billion gallons of fuel annually, costing almost $2 billion and emitting more than 11
million tons of pollution," said Jane Kenny, regional administrator of the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
"This innovative electrification project represents a very positive outcome to an enforcement action and will protect
the air we breathe."
In six weeks of operation in Paulsboro, officials from IdleAire estimate, the system has stopped 140 tons of emissions
from entering the air and saved 19,000 gallons of diesel fuel.
Nearly 1,500 drivers have used the New Jersey hookups, and they remained hooked up an average of 15 hours.
The connection costs $1.25 an hour.
To use the service, trucks park under gantries from which hang flexible yellow tubes about 12 inches wide that
resemble giant dryer hoses. At the end of the tube is a touch-screen computer and a vent for the flow of cooled or
heated air.
Once connected, truckers can use the computer to navigate the system. For instance, drivers press the "thermostat'
button to set the temperature in the cab, or the "Web" button to surf the internet.
There are also connections provided for telephone and television. The computer has two USB ports and a
credit-card reader to pay for the service. Four electrical outlets are also provided.
The system is up and running at 23 truck stops nationwide. Paulsboro is the first truck stop in the Northeast to have
the system.
Company officials say they are looking to bring it to other rest stops in New Jersey and along the East Coast.
By Daniel Sforza
Bergen Record - 10/21/2004