Ryder adds 39 natural gas trucks to rental fleet in California
Truck rental company Ryder announced Thursday it would make 39 light- and medium-duty vehicles powered by compressed natural gas available for lease or rent in California.
Because of their lighter frame, the Greenkraft and Navistar trucks powered by 6.0-liter GM engines will tap existing natural gas stations throughout the state. The more than 300 heavier-duty natural gas trucks in Ryder’s existing fleet require stations specially equipped to handle large commercial tractor-trailers.
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Four California maintenance facilities – in Orange, Fontana, Rancho Dominguez and West Sacramento – are available to service the natural gas vehicles. Ryder also built two refueling stations, part of an ongoing project with San Bernardino Associated Governments, a countywide planning organization, and the Clean Cities Coalition within the Southern California Assn. of Governments. The $38.7-million project initially allowed Ryder to introduce its heavy-duty natural gas trucks in 2011.
The fleet of both compressed and liquefied natural gas, which now spans California, Arizona, Michigan and Louisiana, was partially funded by grants from the California Energy Commission and the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee. Ryder CEO Robert Sanchez said the expansion in California is “a model of public/private collaboration that is helping to develop a long-term and sustainable growth trajectory for cleaner, cheaper and cost-effective natural gas.”
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