boston-logan-celebrates-earth-day

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Boston Logan Welcomes Earth Day with New iPhone App
to Match Taxi Riders with Destinations

Logan's high occupancy vehicles reduce emissions and offer customer alternatives
Massport Offers Hazardous Waste Collection for Airport Tenants

BOSTON – Earth Day at Boston Logan International Airport means more clean options and convenience for travelers as the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) today announced it will promote with public service announcements green ways to get to and from Logan Airport, including a new taxi cab ride-sharing app for iPhones. The free app known as GobiCab allows travelers to input travel information into their smartphone, select from potential matching riders, and share a cab to save money and the environment. GobiCab was developed as part of a Harvard Business School project and will be available for download at www.massport.com.

"Each day nearly 5,000 taxis are dispatched from Logan to destinations throughout metropolitan Boston and beyond. During peak travel periods, such as the Thanksgiving holiday, this number can increase to 10,000 taxis”, said Massport's Director of Aviation Edward C. Freni. "Ride sharing where appropriate should be encouraged as a mechanism to reduce emissions and increase high occupancy vehicle (HOV) use at the airport."

The public service announcements, scheduled to roll out later this month, will remind passengers they can request a hybrid cab, take advantage of Logan Express bus service from four locations along the Route 128 corridor, or take the T.

Currently 30% of Logan passengers use a high occupancy vehicle (HOV) including the MBTA’s Silver Line bus service which runs on clean diesel fuel and electricity; the MBTA’s Blue Line subway service; and clean diesel-powered Logan Express buses. Massport’s goal is to encourage as much as 35% of Logan’s passengers to utilize a HOV option. Logan ranks second nationally behind San Francisco International Airport for HOV passenger use.

Massport has long promoted HOV travel to reduce vehicle emissions and curbside congestion. Massport recently announced that it is spending almost $35 million for a fleet of 50 new alternative fuel buses to replace the airport’s aging fleet of compressed natural gas buses and 94 diesel powered rental car company buses that currently serve the airport. The environmentally-friendly unified fleet is part of the $300 million Consolidated Rental Car (ConRAC) facility which will be built in the Southwest Service Area of the airport.

Massport expects the new fleet to be in operation for at least 12 years during which time it will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 1,840 tons as compared to the existing rental car company buses. The reduction is equivalent to the amount of carbon sequestered each year by 356 acres of pine forest.

On Thursday, April 21 Massport is offering airport tenants and employees an opportunity to celebrate Earth Day by offering a Hazardous Waste Collection Day. Massport will collect for proper disposal or recycling: paints, chemicals, lubricants, degreasers, paint thinners, weed killers, transmission and brake fluids, antifreeze, insecticides, fluorescent bulbs, batteries, computers, televisions, cell phones, and propane tanks. Massport will hold a similar program at Hanscom Field on May 10.

“This collection effort will properly dispose of hazardous materials and make the airport environment safer and cleaner as well as making the homes of airport employees safer as well,’’ said Sam Sleiman, Director of Capital Programs and Environmental Affairs. “Massport is working with a private contractor to dispose of all the material in licensed facilities.’’

Boston Logan, 15 minutes from the intersection of Route 128 and I-90 and five minutes from downtown Boston, serves as the gateway to the New England region and offers nonstop service to 72 domestic and 29 international destinations and in 2010 handled 27.4 million passengers. Boston Logan is the Air Line Pilot Association’s Airport of the Year for 2008 because of its commitment to safety. Over the past decade, the airport spent $4.5 billion on a modernization program that includes new terminals, parking facilities, roadways and airport concessions, and has been transformed into a world-class 21st Century facility. The airport generates $7 billion in total economic impact each year.

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The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) owns and operates Boston Logan International Airport, public terminals in the Port of Boston, Hanscom Field and Worcester Regional Airport. Massport is a financially self-sustaining public authority whose premier transportation facilities generate more than $8 billion annually, and enhance and enable economic growth and vitality in New England. No state tax dollars are used to fund operations or capital improvements at Massport facilities.

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