Reliability of CNG in Hurricane Sandy

The Atlantic City Jitney Association has served as Atlantic City's primary form of public transportation since 1915. In addition to providing transportation services for its tourists and residents, the Jitneys are also charged with the important responsibility of being the city's emergency response vehicles.

Recently the Jitneys made the transformation from traditional gasoline powered vehicles to vehicles powered by an alternative energy source, CNG. The Atlantic City Jitney Association converted its entire 190 vehicle fleet to compressed natural gas and, partnering with Clean Energy, built a state of the art CNG fueling station that is open to the public. Unbeknownst at the time was the pivotal role this station would play in the successful evacuation and recovery from the effects of hurricane Sandy.

With power lost to a majority of the residents of New Jersey's barrier islands and surrounding municipalities, finding reliable sources for gasoline was at a premium. Days later, when power was finally restored gasoline shortages ensued due to the inability to deliver fuel to the hardest hit areas. This necessitated rationing which was problematic for a wide array of reasons.

During the entire evacuation and recovery process the Jitneys were able to rely on its station to provide a continuous source of fuel for its fleet. With the help of the Clean Energy team, on call 24/7, not once did our station experience any down time.

Equally important was our ability to provide fuel for South Jersey Gas vehicles and local refuse operators. With debris from the storm scattered everywhere, in addition to regular collections, the importance of keeping refuse operators in operation cannot be underestimated. Any doubts about the reliability of an up and running CNG fueling station were proven to be unfounded.

Also noteworthy is the fact that the NY/NJ Port Authority reached out to the Jitneys for help in North Jersey and New York City. With New Jersey Transit out of service and the lingering affect of gasoline shortages and mass transportation at a standstill, an inquiry was made by the NY/NJ Port Authority as to the viability of Jitneys providing emergency transportation services for the area. Although gasoline was in a stage of crisis, both the Newark and New York Airports have Clean Energy fueling stations that were not negatively impacted by the gasoline emergency.

The partnership between Clean Energy and the Atlantic City Jitney Association further supports the fact that not only is CNG an economical fuel that is domestically produced and in abundance, it is also reliable.

From: Chuck Feinberg
Sent: Monday, November 19, 2012 3:23 PM
To: Clean Cities Coordinators
Cc: Clean Cities Coordinators; C3VR Seivright;
Subject: Re: CNG - a story of reliability in times of need.

Yes, this has received a lot of attention here in NJ and beyond. For the record, the project to convert the fleet to CNG and build the station was funded in significant part by the New Jersey Clean Cities Coalition using funds DOE ARRA funds. A "success story" can be found here.

Chuck