More than half the cargo passing through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach is moving on less polluting “clean trucks,” according to port data released last week.
About 59 percent of the cargo at the Port of Los Angeles during the month of June was carried by trucks that meet or exceed 2007 model-year emission standards. At the neighboring Port of Long Beach, the figure is 52 percent, as of mid-July.
The figures are surprising given that the ports’ Clean Truck Program doesn’t require use of such trucks until 2012.
“I think this shows that the trucking community and the ports are both committed to seeing this through and cleaning up the environment sooner rather than later,” said Chris Cannon, manager of Port of Los Angeles’ Clean Truck Program.
Since the launch of the program in October, more than 5,000 trucks of model year 2007 or newer have come into drayage service at the ports. And more are on the way. The L.A. port plans to award $50 million in subsidies in the next few months for 500 additional trucks.
Mike Fox, owner of Fox Transportation, a Rancho Cucamonga-based trucking firm, is among the carriers that have purchased new rigs this year. His company has bought 70 clean diesel trucks and plans to buy an additional 35 liquefied natural gas trucks if he can get some of the subsidy money.
“I think companies that signed up early for the program have seen the benefits,” said Fox. “Cargo owners want to do business with companies that are investing in their fleets because it looks like you are more stable and invested in the future at the ports. And using more environmentally safe trucks is good public relations.”
The legality of the ports’ clean trucks program, meanwhile, is still up in the air.
Although one lawsuit challenging the plan, filed by the Federal Maritime Commission, was thrown out by a federal judge this year, another lawsuit remains. That action, brought by the American Trucking Association, alleges the plan violates federal law and is set for a trial in December.
It’s estimated that about 12,000 trucks serve the ports; that’s down about 4,000 from a few years ago when international trade was booming.
Air Wars
The summer air-fare war is heating up at local airports, with one-way tickets as low as $29 at discount carriers such as JetBlue Airways and Virgin America.
JetBlue cut air fares by as much as 50 percent from its West Coast hub at Long Beach Airport to several destinations nationwide. The promotion includes a $29 one-way fare from Long Beach to San Jose, and $39 one-way fares to Oakland or San Francisco.
Virgin America, which flies out of Los Angeles International Airport, is offering one-way tickets for flights to New York and Boston for $119, and to Seattle for $69.
The sales come after most U.S. airlines pushed through their first fare increases of the year in June and let most of their big summer sales expire June 30. What’s behind the change of heart? Simply put, soft demand.
In the Los Angeles area, air travel is down more than 11 percent in the first half of 2009 compared with the same period last year, according to the Southern California Association of Governments. About 38 million passengers flew in and out of LAX, John Wayne, Burbank, Ontario, Long Beach and Palm Springs airports in the first half of the year.
Other airlines plan to reduce flights or move to smaller planes in the fall, according to industry analysts.
Westside Meetings
Businesses and residents in West Los Angeles interested in learning the L.A. County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s plans for a Wilshire Boulevard subway extension will have a chance over the next two weeks to view them in a public forum.
So far, there are two major options: One would extend the Metro Purple Line via Wilshire, and the other would create a Wilshire-West Hollywood Subway that would include a spur from the Metro Red Line in Hollywood via Santa Monica Boulevard.
The first of five meetings will kick off 6 p.m. Tuesday at Wilshire United Methodist Church, 4350 Wilshire Blvd. A list of all the meetings dates and locations are available at Metro.net/westside or by calling (213) 922-6934.
On the Job
The Long Beach City Council has confirmed Mayor Bob Foster’s decision to reappoint attorney Mario Cordero to the Board of Harbor Commissioners. First appointed in June 2003, Cordero, 56, is now beginning his second six-year term. Harbor commissioners can serve up to two six-year terms.
Staff reporter Francisco Vara-Orta can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5225, ext. 241.
