Cesar Olivarez climbs into the cab of his 1992 big rig and turns the key.
Black fumes spew from the exhaust pipe as he settles into the driver’s seat and prepares for another haul from the Port of Long Beach to a local warehouse, a ritual he’s practiced for the past 27 years.
A week’s worth of work brings the independent trucker $1,500, but a third of his earnings are guzzled up by rising fuel costs. On top of that, Olivarez shells out money for repairs to his 16-year-old rig, parking fees and the occasional traffic citation from police patrolling the ports.
Beginning this week, new challenges are in store for truckers serving the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The Clean Trucks Program, a $1.6 billion initiative designed to reduce diesel truck emissions by 80 percent within five years, takes effect Wednesday.
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