The move is in line with the university's efforts to encourage commuters to use more environmentally friendly transport options, including car pooling and greater use of public transit. "York is one of the largest single-site destinations for private vehicles in the GTA, and the air pollution generated by 33,000 vehicles coming to the Keele campus each day is significant and must be reduced," said Tom Arnold, director of parking and transportation services at York.

Arnold said the upgrade to NGVs is a wise environmental decision because natural gas burns cleaner than gasoline and other alternative fuels and drastically reduces harmful tail pipe emissions such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, volatile organic compounds and particulate matter. He added commuters should note that the switch to natural gas will generate savings of 25-50 per cent in fuel costs, and reduce maintenance costs as engine parts stay cleaner longer.

"The rising incidence of asthma and other respiratory ailments, particularly risky for young children and the elderly, is forcing many large metropolitan areas to take tougher action," said Doug Cameron, manager, Ontario region for ENRG, which builds and supplies natural gas fueling stations in Canada and the United States.

Tighter emissions standards for vehicles in California can now only be met with natural gas or electric vehicles, and Cameron said there are now 65 public natural gas fueling stations in Ontario servicing thousands of natural gas vehicles, and about 60 fueling stations in the lower mainland of Vancouver. York's fleet will re-fuel at stations off campus in close proximity to the university.

Factory built natural gas vehicles exceed Ontario's vehicle emission standards, and Cameron estimated purchasers can receive more than $6,500 in government and industry grants and rebates to offset the incremental cost of choosing natural gas.

York will replace a fleet of 10 transportation vehicles with NGVs over the next two years, and will add a 24-seat natural gas-powered bus early this summer.

York has been advocating improved public transit access to the university with an extension of the Spadina subway line from Downsview station through the Keele campus to a proposed commuter bus and parking facility in York Region on the north side of Steeles Ave. York President Lorna Marsden established a Task Force on Sustainability at the university in 1999, and York is a founding member of the Black Creek Regional Transportation Management Association which is working to encourage more environmentally friendly transport options in the region.

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