Some of you may have seen media reports that Clean Energy recently opened the world's largest natural gas truck fueling station at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. This event is noteworthy to people following the alternative fuels, but should it matter to you (in case you don't follow alternative fuels)? I call what is happening at the Ports the "Quiet Revolution" and you won't want to miss it.

The Clean Truck Program at the Ports has been anything but quiet. Court cases by the American Trucking Association and Federal Maritime Commission plus exhaustive media coverage have kept the Clean Truck Program in the spotlight for over a year. Employee mandates, dirty truck fees, old truck bans, and other controversies have kept industry buzzing this entire time. At the same time, quietly, a revolution has started. I call this the Quiet Revolution because, while overshadowed by higher profile issues in the Clean Truck Program, I believe the alternative fuel policies of the Ports will impact goods movement in this country and perhaps the world far more than the other issues that received all of the attention.

About one year ago the very first 8 natural gas port trucks were deployed by a local drayage firm called TTSI. Another 50 natural gas trucks were deployed shortly after by Southern Counties Express. Thanks to generous support by the Ports and the Air Quality Management District, other drayage companies such as Cal Cartage, Green Fleet Systems, Pac 9, Calko, JBA, Hay Day Farms, and Border Valley Farms quickly followed. Fast-forward to today. There are now between 400 and 500 Class 8 natural gas trucks operating in the Ports. There should be over 1,000 natural gas trucks in the Ports by the end of this year. Excluding refuse trucks, more Class 8 natural gas trucks have been deployed in the past year than the total deployed in the history of the industry. Now that I have made this claim, I will do some research and report back later with some better historical perspective.

The companies and drivers are having tremendous success with the natural gas trucks. Drivers report they like the trucks because they do the job and are quieter and cleaner. Of course everyone likes the fact that they are saving money over diesel. And a good number of people feel patriotic that they are using American energy instead of imported oil.

What is happening at the Ports is the proving ground for the rest of the trucking industry. Natural gas trucks operating at the Ports are demonstrating that the technology is ready for local and regional trucking applications. Hauling 80,000 GVW around the greater Los Angeles area with natural gas trucks can be replicated in any metropolitan area. These natural gas trucks are proving that they are up to the task whether hauling containers to distribution centers or delivering goods to the stores.

I do find it fascinating that the success of natural gas trucks is threatening to some. I guess change can be hard to accept. However, make no mistake. The revolution has quietly started.