Park your car often at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, the planet’s busiest airport? If you do you’re being good to the environment.
ATL just rolled out 18 new compressed natural gas (CNG) busses, the better to shuttle flyers to and from the airport’s 8,000 on-site Park-Ride spaces. Those spaces are arrayed across a trio of lots at the airport.
Saying the new busses demonstrate “a significant commitment to our environmental stewardship,” Aviation General Manager Louis Miller adds, “An all-CNG-fueled shuttle bus fleet is another important step in reducing Hartsfield-Jackson’s overall carbon footprint.”
Here’s why: compared with vehicles powered by gasoline with ethanol, CNG conveyances produce 30 percent fewer greenhouse gasses. They also emit fewer toxic and carcinogenic pollutants.
Passengers don’t have to give up anything to get the green ride. The busses (you can spot them by their ParkATL logos) actually sport more legroom than the older gasoline-powered models.
Atlanta is among the latest airports in the country to adopt this type of environmentally-friendly shuttle bus.
Green busses are another way that Hartsfield-Jackson’s on-site parking can better compete with the array of private parking lots that ring the airport, especially those along busy Camp Creek Parkway. In a prepared statement, the airport contends its three close-in lots “are quicker and more convenient for customers than off-site independent lots.” Price helps too, ATL says its Park-Ride spaces go for $9 per day, and are “less expensive than most off-site” lots.
Atlanta is hub to a pair of carriers: Delta and discount airline AirTran. The latter is in the process of merging with the nation’s largest discount carrier, Southwest.
Story by Jerry Chandler
(Image: Hartsfield-Jackson News)
