Columbus area buses have been using soy based biodiesel for the past couple of years but due to the high cost have decided to operate only on ULSD according to the Columbus Dispatch.
Instead, the fleet will operate strictly on ultralow-sulfur diesel.
"It's an economic, as well as environmental, decision," said William Lhota, Central Ohio Transit Authority president and chief executive officer.
COTA buses run on a fuel mixture of 90 percent ultralow-sulfur diesel and 10 percent soy biodiesel.
The bus agency has been purchasing soy biodiesel at a fixed price of $2.40 a gallon the past 12 months and ultralow-sulfur diesel at the locked-in price of $2.77 a gallon the past five months. The fuel contracts expire at the end of the month.
Last week, the cost of soy biodiesel was $4.44 a gallon while ultralow-sulfur diesel was at $3.81 a gallon, COTA officials said. That was up 43 cents and 36 cents, respectively, from the previous week.
Worldwide demand for food and biofuels has driven up the cost of biodiesel.
Ultralow-Sulfur Diesel less than $4.00 a gallon
Were the heck can I get ultralow-sulfur diesel for $3.81 a gallon... I want to drive there with a 55 gallon tank in my trunk and fill up... I would even take the BioDiesel at $4.44.. Diesel down here in Florida is running $4.69 a gallon...
"Everything is possible, it is just a matter of whether it is feasable with today's technology" Hintertux