The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) will provide two 40-foot compressed natural gas (CNG) buses to transport participants to and from the AltWheels Transportation Festival this Saturday and Sunday. The buses will be available from the MBTA's Green and Red Lines to the Larz Anderson Museum of Transportation, the site of the festival. The buses are an integral part of Massport's aggressive alternative fuel program and are normally used to transport passengers between the terminals and MBTA station and Logan International Airport.

Massport is committed to responsible environmental stewardship and our fleet of shuttle buses reflects that commitment, said Massport CEO Craig Coy. We are pleased to support the festival and offer those attending the opportunity to ride in a CNG-powered vehicle.

Massport has been a leader in the area of alternative fuels. Logan has served as a testing ground for a number of cutting edge alternative fuel programs and technologies. Massport began converting its Logan-based shuttle buses in 1995 and now all 33 of the shuttle buses operate on CNG. Logan is also home to the region's largest CNG filling station. Massport has worked closely with environmental agencies and airport tenants to encourage airport companies to convert their Logan fleets to alternative fuels. Currently 28% of Massport's Logan based fleet operates on clean fuels which include CNG and electricity.

This shuttle service will vividly demonstrate an environmentally friendly transportation technology, said Alison Sander, principal organizer of the event. The AltWheels Festival hopes to raise awareness of technology that is, or soon will be available. Massport is making an important contribution to this effort.

The Massport shuttle buses will ferry passengers from the Green Line (D) Reservoir Station and the Red Line Porter Square Station. Service from the Reservoir Station will run every 20 minutes and the Porter Square Station service will operate every 90 minutes. The shuttle service will begin at 8:00 a.m. on both days, with the last pick-up at each location scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on Saturday and 6:00 p.m. on Sunday.

The AltWheels Transportation Festival will take place from 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, September 18th and 19th. The festival will include a series of outdoor workshops and exhibits, a big lawn show of technologies, and special activities for children. There will be information and activities for people interested in walking, biking, using mass transit and those interested in the future of the passenger car and commercial vehicles. The festival this year will include a caravan Friday night in which Massport is participating, and two days of full events including Segway rides and auction of a new 2004 blue Prius. Participants will have a chance to test drive efficient vehicles on the market today such as the Honda Civic and Toyota Prius hybrid vehicles; see alternative fuel vehicles already in use in the Boston area; and see the latest in fuel cell technology.

AltWheels is New England's largest alternative transportation festival, presented by a coalition of more than 70 sponsors and co-hosts, including educational institutions and organizations, government agencies, and businesses involved in cleaner forms of transportation. In addition to a lawn show displaying the latest in automotive technology, conference panels will include more than 50 speakers touching on all the critical issues required to create a sustainable transportation vision for the 21st century.

For More Information

Festival details can be found at www.altwheels.org. Information on the Larz Anderson museum is available at www.mot.org.

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