Arrow Stage Lines, and The Certification for Sustainable Transportation (CST) have announced that 100% of motorcoach operators have completed the CST’s EcoDriver and Idle Free Certification Programs and 100% of their vehicles have been eRating certified. Company officials were pleased with the announcement and expressed their enthusiasm for the program. Arrow Stage Lines COO Luke Busskohl said “This program is crucial for us right now. With all of the green initiatives, we are proud to partner with the University of Vermont to put our drivers through the Idle-Free and Eco-Driver training.”
The CST is a mission-driven non-for-profit program housed at the University of Vermont. It’s mission is to: reduce greenhouse gas and other harmful emissions, increase energy efficiency, and to promote the use of alternative fuels and new technologies. Similar to how Energy Star works in the appliance sector, the CST accomplishes its work largely through three programs: its eRating vehicle certification, an Eco-Driver certification program, and an Idle-Free driver certification program.
Arrow Stage Lines and its employees began the process to have its vehicles and drivers certified in early 2016 and since then, all of their motorcoach operators have completed the CST’s EcoDriver and Idle Free training courses. The driver training courses teach drivers an array of EcoDriving practices as well as how to avoid unnecessary idling. These programs can help drivers save fuel and reduce the environmental impacts of their vehicles.
Each qualifying vehicle in the company’s fleet received an eRating certification based on a variety of environmental criteria. The CST’s Director, Dave Kestenbaum, said of Arrow Stage Lines,
“We were very pleased with the level of commitment Arrow Stage Lines and its employees made to incorporate EcoDriving and Idle Free practices. Its great to see a company get invested from the top down to reduce their environmental impacts. Additionally, we are really amazed that Arrow Stage Lines has so many vehicles that qualify for the eRating label. This is not an easy certification to get, and it shows that they can move people from point A to point B extremely efficiently”
Now that Arrow has completed the certification program, they will continue to work with the CST to promote efficiency internally.
Arrow Stage Lines recently was awarded the ABA’s Green Spirit Award in 2016 for their green practices put in place with the help of the University of Vermont and their CST program. Arrow also was awarded LCT Magazines 2017 Operator of the Year award.
If you would like more information about this topic, please visit www.arrowstagelines.com or www.erating.org.
