Ryder: LNG, CNG Fleet Surpasses 20 Mln Miles

Ryder System has achieved a significant milestone with its fleet of over 500 natural gas vehicles exceeding 20 million miles. The fleet consists of liquefied natural gas and compressed natural gas tractors serving over 40 customer operations in California, New York, Texas, Arizona, Michigan, Utah, Georgia, and Louisiana.

Since deploying its natural gas vehicle program in 2011, Ryder has replaced approximately 3.1 million gallons of diesel fuel with domestically produced natural gas and reduced emissions by more than 559,000 MTCO2e (metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent) emissions.

“This latest milestone reinforces Ryder’s continued leadership in commercial natural gas vehicle solutions and demonstrates our ongoing commitment to assist companies who seek alternatives to reduce fuel costs, carbon output, and meet their environmental objectives,” said Ryder Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Robert Sanchez. “As a provider of full service lease, commercial rental, and dedicated transportation services, our business model puts us in a unique position to enable more fleets to convert to natural gas and realize the benefits of this cost-effective, clean, and domestic energy source.”

“We are proud to make investments in alternative fuel solutions, which will further support the wider adoption of natural gas vehicles for commercial transportation,” continued Sanchez. “We pride ourselves on listening to the needs of the marketplace and developing the solutions that will help drive the industry forward.”

Customers can tap into Ryder’s extensive knowledge of natural gas and rapidly evolving alternative fuels maintenance network, along with its highly trained and experienced technicians, to ensure the safe operation, maintenance, and fueling of natural gas vehicles. Ryder’s alternative fuels sales team can also help businesses determine which vehicle configurations work best for their specific applications.

Golden Eagle Distributors, Inc., the exclusive distributor of Anheuser-Busch products, as well as other craft beers and imports, across most of Arizona, is one such business that has realized the environmental and cost savings benefits of a natural gas vehicle fleet. The company worked with Ryder to convert their 23 vehicle delivery fleet to compressed natural gas (CNG) in 2011.

“Ryder has been our strategic transportation partner for 40 years and has helped us find an alternative fuel (CNG) that is not only cleaner and better for the environment, but that also enabled us to achieve overall transportation cost savings,” said Golden Eagle Distributors’ Senior VP Business Operations, Bill Osteen. “After four decades of working with Ryder as our transportation partner, we knew we could trust their team to select and maintain the right kind of CNG vehicles to meet the needs of our drivers and the loads we carry daily.”

As an industry leader in natural gas vehicle solutions for the commercial transportation market, Ryder is able to leverage its knowledge of emerging fleet technologies and government rebates and tax incentive programs to help reduce natural gas vehicle costs for customers and offer more competitive lease and rental rates in those areas that offer incentives. Ryder actively monitors public and private incentive programs in 47 states and provinces throughout the U.S. and Canada.

In addition to making natural gas vehicles available for rent or lease, Ryder’s “Flex-to-Green Lease” solution is designed to ease the transition to a greener fleet. Businesses that opt for Ryder’s Flex-to-Green Lease start out with a diesel-powered vehicle and then have the option to convert to a natural gas vehicle at any time following the first full year of the lease. Flex-to-Green customers enjoy all the maintenance and service benefits of a standard Ryder Full Service Lease, which includes substitute vehicles during unexpected downtime.