Breathing Easier Thanks to Biodiesel and U.S. Soy

NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / March 18, 2024 / Buses are invaluable. They get workers across town, kids to school, travelers from the parking lot to the terminal and much more.

Buses can also be stressful. Will you catch it? Will it reach the destination on time? Will it have enough space? Will the driver be helpful?

Most buses use diesel engines for safety, reliability, efficiency, durability and cost efficiency.¹ And though the fuel for those engines can't prevent buses from getting stuck in traffic, some alternative options can help everyone breathe easier - thanks to U.S. Soy.

Biodiesel and renewable diesel are produced from renewable feedstocks like soybean oil and used cooking oils with different processes. They both can be used in place of petroleum-based diesel without any changes to vehicle engines.² Research has shown that biodiesel can reduce lifecycle greenhouse gases by 86% and particulate matter by 47% compared to petroleum-based diesel.³

Those advantages caught the attention of John Benish Jr., president and chief operating officer of Cook-Illinois Corporation, the sixth largest school bus contractor in the United States. A second-generation executive of the family-owned-and-operated company, he started powering his bus fleet with biodiesel blends in 2005, and he hasn't looked back.

Clearing the Air

Benish Jr.'s father began ferrying school children in the rapidly expanding Chicago area in 1958. From then through the 1990s, Benish Jr. remembers the plume of black smoke that would rise above the iconic yellow school buses when the driver started the engine.

Today, his company operates 2,050 school buses in the Chicago, Illinois, area, in the heart of the U.S. Midwest, as well as 25 shuttle buses at Chicago Midway Airport. They all run on blends of biodiesel. The fleet includes five school buses powered by 100% biodiesel, and he plans to add more of these buses.

"I've come to the conclusion that biodiesel is the fastest, easiest way to decarbonize a school bus and clear the air, because it can be used immediately in existing diesel technology, rather than investing in a new fleet or waiting for future technologies," Benish Jr. says. "I hear a lot of talk about electric, and that may happen in the future, but it's a long way off for buses, practically speaking. We can accomplish the same goals with fuels like biodiesel, and that's my message to other fleet managers."