Veggie powered shuttle bus introduced at UNM

UNM Parking and Transportation Services recently debuted the University's first waste-vegetable oil (WVO) powered vehicle, or Veggie Bus. Based on a conventional PATS diesel-powered shuttle, the Veggie Bus sports student artwork from contest winner Crystal Wong and will run on the Redondo route.

"The introduction of the Veggie Bus represents a major milestone in both innovation and sustainability for the University of New Mexico," said Cynthia Martin, PATS Program Planning Manager.

PATS spearheaded the Veggie Bus project along with Physical Plant Division (PPD) Automotive staff and Sustainability Studies students. Future plans for the Veggie Bus include collecting the WVO generated by campus food vendors and using it to fuel the Veggie Bus.

"By utilizing this relatively cost-free fuel supply, the Veggie Bus will remain independent of rising conventional fuel costs, while at the same time providing an optimum collection and disposal service of material that up until now had been considered waste," Martin said.

Campus food service vendor, Chartwells, is already on board with the project.