National Parks Initiative
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) partners with the National Park Service (NPS) through the Clean Cities National Parks Initiative. The initiative supports transportation projects that educate park visitors on the benefits of shifting to affordable, domestic alternative fuels, advanced vehicles, and fuel-saving technologies and strategies. Since 2010, VTO and Clean Cities coalitions have partnered with NPS on 35 projects to put alternative fuel and fuel-efficient vehicles on the road, reduce vehicle idling, and improve vehicle efficiency. These actions support and coincide with NPS's efforts to reduce vehicle congestion, air pollution, and resource degradation, and to preserve the long-term quality of the parks.
Zion National Park
The Zion Canyon Scenic Drive is accessible only by the Zion Canyon Shuttle the majority of the year. Courtesy of NPS
Zion National Park uses a fleet of 21 shuttle buses, which are all powered by propane. By getting visitors out of their cars, the shuttles eliminate more than 5 million pounds of CO2 emissions each year. In 2014, Utah Clean Cities worked with park officials to expand Zion's use of alternative fuels by replacing three gasoline-powered vehicles with all-electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and installing 10 electric vehicle charging stations, five of which are available for public use. The project also included an idle-reduction education and outreach initiative.
See how the Clean Cities National Parks Initiative supports parks transportation projects.