Trucks of Tomorrow

Hi-Way 9 goes green on the road and in the office

Hi-Way 9 Express Ltd. has focused on fuel efficiency for its trucking fleet since the unfashionably early year of 1989.

It started with a serious accident that prompted the Drumheller-based company to reduce its vehicle highway speeds to 100 kilometres per hour and improve the aerodynamics of its transport trucks. The overriding goal was safety, but a positive side effect was improved fuel efficiency.

"We couldn't believe the savings we were seeing in our fuel use and on our tire life," says Darrell Kohut, manager of vehicle maintenance and safety with the family-owned firm.

Hi-Way 9 has since expanded from relatively short runs to places like Calgary, Red Deer and Edmonton and is now moving into markets as far afield as Regina, Winnipeg and Vancouver. Along the way, it has continued to make its growing fleet as fuel efficient as possible - embracing technologies like onboard computers, satellite freight tracking and aerodynamic fairings as well as using the right-sized truck for the job (a 300-horsepower, single-axle vehicle instead of a 450-horsepower double axle for short runs). It has recently been experimenting with wider, single tires, which promise improved fuel efficiencies of six to 10 per cent.

The company started an anti-idling program 15 years ago, long before most of its competitors. "Anti-idling is still not as widespread as it should be in our industry. There are huge savings in terms of fuel, reduced impact on the environment and increased life of the truck," says Kohut, a former journeyman mechanic. For every one-per-cent reduction in idling, Hi-Way 9 has cut its (annual) fuel use by 3,800 litres.

"A truck engine is like a heart. It's only going to pump so many times. How you use it is up to you - pulling a load and earning income or sitting at a truck stop and idling."

Instead of warming up the passenger compartment of its trucks in winter by idling, Hi-Way 9 uses cab heaters, which are powered by diesel instead of electricity. These heaters are tied to timers, scheduled to kick in at 4:30 a.m. for 6 a.m. departures from its Drumheller, Red Deer and Calgary yards.

Until recently, Hi-Way 9 had stayed away from side skirts because of the relatively short times on its in-Alberta runs that its trucks were up to highway speeds; they are most effective at constant speeds of more than 75 kilometres per hour for long stretches. "We has a hard time justifying the purchase costs and future maintenance against the fuel savings," says Kohut. But now that the company is expanding its operations to runs outside the province, it is installing these side skirts on its longer-haul trucks.

Hi-Way 9's green initiatives aren't restricted to its vehicles. Its facilities recycle paper and pallets, issue paperless invoices and use energy-efficient fluorescent lighting, waste oil heaters and remote-controlled thermostats. The company is now installing motion sensors for facility lighting and water-recycling systems for vehicle washing. Say Kohut: "We're committed to being green from our offices to the highway."