Love’s Trillium CNG, part of the Love’s Family of Companies, has finalized an agreement to bring two compressed natural gas (CNG) facilities to south Florida. In addition, Love’s Travel Stop in Chanute, KS, opened for business on Feb. 9.
According to the Alternative Fuels Data Center, the stations will be the only CNG locations in Miami-Dade County, FL. The county awarded Trillium the contract under which the company will design, build and maintain the CNG facilities, upgrade maintenance facilities, as well as procure 300 CNG buses for the county’s public transportation system.
“This is easily one of the most innovative public-private collaborations we’ve undertaken with a transit agency,” said Bill Cashmareck, director of Trillium CNG. “The combination of providing buses, designing, building and maintaining the CNG systems, upgrading maintenance facilities, and constructing new fuel and wash buildings demonstrates the breadth of our services. Our goal is to simplify sustainability, meaning that we’ll take care of the details, which allows our Customers, like Miami-Dade County, to focus on offering the best level of service to their Customers while running on clean fuel.”
The stations will serve approximately 250 Miami-Dade County buses each. Trillium has contracted with New Flyer of America Inc., a subsidiary of New Flyer Industries Inc., the largest transit bus and motor coach manufacturer and parts distributor in North America, to provide the first 300 CNG buses. The 40-foot Xcelsior CNG buses will be delivered throughout 2017 and 2018. The agency may add CNG buses in the future.
The Miami-Dade County Metrobus system provides service along 95 bus routes that travel 29 million miles per year throughout the county, including parts of Broward County and the Middle Keys. County officials say the agreement will help them reach their goals of meeting the transportation needs of their customers while increasing sustainability.
“As mayor, it’s my responsibility to seek the best possible future for our children and grandchildren from both a financial and environmental perspective, and I believe compressed natural gas and renewable natural gas for our county’s buses will move us towards that goal. After much consideration and research, the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners and I felt Trillium CNG was the best company to help move us toward a more sustainable future and we’re pleased to partner with them,” said Carlos Giménez, Mayor of Miami-Dade County.
Both locations will have separate fueling islands for the public, including light- and- heavy-duty trucks. Construction on the first facility, located at 3300 N.W. 32nd Ave., is slated to begin later this year and open early next year. Construction on the second station, located at 2775 S.W. 74th Ave., is scheduled to start this winter and be open by summer 2018.
Trillium will provide the fuel for both stations. A minimum of 20 percent of the energy will be from renewable natural gas (RNG). RNG is a cellulosic biofuel produced from the anaerobic decomposition of waste from landfills, dairy operations or wastewater treatment facilities. The renewable energy will greatly reduce the greenhouse gas emissions for the project. The agreement also includes CNG-related updates to existing transit maintenance, new fueling buildings, bus washes, and a 10-year operation and maintenance agreement.
Love’s Travel Stops currently operates 13 travel stops in Florida, with additional locations in Moore Haven, Bushnell and Lake Wales scheduled to open this year. Trillium operates five CNG facilities in the state, two of which they own.
Love’s Travel Stop in Chanute, KS, is the 22nd location in Kansas brings driver services to U.S. Highway 169 at 190th Road, the company noted.
“The opening of the new store allows us to serve more Customers with the ‘Clean Places, Friendly Faces’ Love’s is known for along the well-traveled U.S. Highway 169,” said Greg Love, co-CEO of Love’s. “Chanute is in a great location for drivers traveling to and from Kansas City and Tulsa, Oklahoma, and beyond. We look forward to providing a safe place to park to more drivers in a new part of Kansas.”
The Chanute location is Love’s second travel stop along U.S. Highway 169. The first Love’s on the highway opened last year in Nowata, Oklahoma, approximately 70 miles south of Chanute.
The new Love’s is open 24/7. It offers an Arby’s restaurant, fresh fruit, gift items, name-brand snacks and more. The travel stop also offers services for professional drivers, including truck parking, showers, CAT scales and other amenities.
