April 10, 2007 – VICTORIA - Today BC Transit announced its switch to a biodiesel fuel blend in all Victoria Regional Transit System vehicles.

This will result in significant environmental benefits as well as fuel cost savings. All conventional, community buses and handyDART transit vehicles will be using the B5 biodiesel blend.

"BC Transit has a long history of leadership and innovation when it comes to technology and environmental stewardship, including the testing and use of alternate fuels," says Victoria Regional Transit Commission Chair Mayor Don Amos. "Biodiesel is a cleaner burning fuel than petrodiesel and reduces both tailpipe emissions and greenhouse gases."

With the move to ultra low sulphur diesel (ULSD) as the new standard fuel, BC Transit has adopted a phased migration from #1 diesel to biodiesel blended with season ULSD.

The availability of biodiesel has improved and the price is now five cents per litre less than petrodiesel. "For the Victoria Regional Transit System, when combined with seasonal ultra low sulphur diesel, this means a projected savings of $650,000 per year," says Amos. "The savings will be used for various environmental initiatives such as upgrading emission control systems on some of our older buses."

Biodiesel is a natural choice in the migration from fossil fuels to clean sources of energy. It requires no modification to the diesel engines or to the fuelling infrastructure. Biodiesel is made from renewable sources such as vegetable oil (usually canola and soybean oil in Canada and the US) and can be blended with petrodiesel (regular diesel fuel) in a variety of blends, 5% and 20% being the most common.

The switch to biodiesel is being implemented immediately with no modifications required to the fuelling infrastructure or to the diesel engines. The cost of using biodiesel, which is being supplied by Island owned Columbia Fuels, will be the same as or less than using petrodiesel.

In the Throne Speech, February 13, 2007, the provincial government committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 33 per cent by 2020. Transit systems across the province will play a key role in meeting this target. BC Transit is ahead of schedule and the migration to biodiesel in the Victoria region and dozens of other transit service areas will help to increase the market demand for biodiesel in BC.