So, what’s this all about?

In the early 1990’s, the EPA mandated that gas stations install systems that prevent fuel vapors from being released into the atmosphere (known as Stage II Vapor Recovery). Today, most vehicles produced have their own built-in systems called On-Board Refueling Vapor Recovery (ORVR). This made the need for gas station recovery systems obsolete.

In 2012, the EPA removed this guidance and many states followed suit by eliminating the requirement for Stage II Vapor Recovery systems. However, California did not follow the EPA’s updated guidance and as a result air districts, including the SCAQMD, kept the Stage II Vapor Recovery requirements intact. Due to the lack of Stage II systems that can be installed on a mobile fueling tanker,  Booster initially was not able to operate in the SCAQMD region.

How did Booster play a role in this?

Booster found a way to use technology and ingenuity to develop a new process that ensures that our operations in California meet or exceed the strictest standards in the country for reducing vapors when fueling vehicles.

To ensure that fuel vapors are properly recovered during our mobile fueling operations, we worked in partnership with the California Air Resources Board (CARB), California’s statewide air regulator, and developed proprietary technology that could take a vehicle’s license plate and run it through several databases to check if it had ORVR. If a vehicle did not meet these requirements, we would not fuel it. After several years of  testing and refining this system, this project led to the first ever certification to be issued by CARB for a mobile fueling operation like Booster, which means that Booster’s operations meet the state’s extremely high environmental standards. This was the first executive order of its kind issued by CARB in over 20 years. It also ultimately led to this significant SCAQMD rule change.

And why is enabling mobile fueling important to residents in the SCAQMD?

For one, it’s the most accessible way for drivers with disabilities to stay fueled. It can be difficult or impossible for many of these drivers to use a standard self-serve gas pump. Even though the ADA requires accommodations at gas stations, too often this is either ignored or the infrastructure is just too out of date. By passing the new rule, SCAQMD has made steps to improve independence and mobility for many residents without increasing their costs.

And the new rule is great news for sustainability. Mobile fueling is fundamentally better for people, our communities and our planet. Our shortened supply chain reduces gasoline spills and the need for ground-polluting underground storage tanks. And by delivering fuel straight to vehicles, we saved our customers 1.3 million gas station strips in 2021. This translates to fewer miles driven, fewer gallons of gas consumed and, most importantly, fewer harmful emissions.

Great! Where do we go from here?

We believe in working closely with regulators and lawmakers because not only is mobile fueling safe, it’s actually better for our communities and the environment. Although this rule change is a step in the right direction, there are still numerous areas in California where mobile fueling is not allowed due to outdated rules.

Our next mission is to continue working so that a bill passes to allow safe, environmentally responsible mobile fueling to be offered to every Californian, regardless of where in the state they live.

The post Big Win for Accessibility and the Environment in Southern California appeared first on BOOSTER.

What if there was an easy way to achieve more efficiency, higher profits, and sustainability goals right now? Energy delivery from Booster has done that very same thing for hundreds of companies, large and small.

Today, businesses are facing immense pressure to execute efficiently amid rapidly growing demand, operational complexity, and unprecedented labor shortages. It’s the perfect storm.

Keeping vehicles fueled is a necessary burden on business that opens your fleet up to additional time, vehicle wear, exposure to the perils of the road, and a higher potential for fraud at the pump. Until today, the only alternative was to keep fueling capabilities onsite, which is expensive, toxic to the environment, and a risky investment considering we are in the midst of a global energy transition.

The pressure to adhere to new environmental standards can introduce added stressors for business owners and operators: like having to choose between an allegiance to business or a focus on sustainability, sourcing renewable fuels when they’re not widely available, or the far-fetched option of fleet electrification, which requires many years, major CapEx, and operational rigidity.

Enter The Easy Button

Having energy delivered directly to your fleet by Booster helps your company fiscally, operationally, and environmentally by removing the need to travel to the gas station ever again.

A partnership with Booster saves your employees time that could be used with customers or other essential functions. Which saves you money. It also saves your vehicles from unnecessary depreciation and your drivers from potential risks associated with being in traffic. Which eliminates 1.9 lbs of CO₂ per gas station trip and also, you guessed it, saves you money.

Thanks to Booster’s mobile model, more customers now have access to biofuels like renewable diesel, which reduces carbon emissions by up to 70% without sacrificing performance or increasing costs. It is a direct swap for conventional diesel, so there is no need to modify or purchase new vehicles. The reduction in carbon emissions alone is worth the simple transition, but we also offer our customers data insights that give business owners unprecedented visibility into these benefits and allows them to clearly track per-gallon pricing.

The Proof is in the Results

Our customers have seen remarkable results from having renewable diesel delivered to their fleets.

19% decline in energy cost per mile

Providing customers with competitive, predictable prices drives down the per-mile cost of fuel.

60% reduction in total vehicle energy management costs

By eliminating trips to the gas station altogether, we’re also eliminating the costs associated with it, including administrative chores.

5%+ increase in profit and service delivered per labor unit

We give customers 20 minutes of labor back per gas station trip, time that can be spent on business development.

25-75% reduction in carbon emissions

By eliminating the 2.2 vehicle miles traveled off-route to the gas station, you save 1.9 lbs of CO2 emissions, PLUS additional CO2 savings with renewable fuel delivery.

If you’d like to improve your company’s efficiency and sustainability while actually boosting profits, contact our consultants at https://boosterusa.com/get-quote-fleet or call us at 1.888.938.3563.

The post Run A Business? It’s Time You Got an ‘Easy Button’ For Your Fleet. appeared first on BOOSTER.

The ADA set many standards to improve access and independence, including infrastructure requirements to make buildings and services more accessible. While this landmark legislation set a precedent, much is still needed to make the world a more inclusive and equitable place.

One area still lacking solutions is the accessibility to fueling for drivers with disabilities. As the leading mobile energy delivery service, our customers and partners have experienced firsthand the difficulties faced at gas stations. Unless you live in Oregon or New Jersey, full service stations are nearly non-existent. Those that do exist charge more for the service. The ADA requires gas stations to provide reasonable accommodations to drivers with disabilities, but it isn’t always enforced.

At gas stations, drivers in wheelchairs can find themselves unable to reach the key pad, or note that the button to call for assistance is taped over, painted in, or simply broken. Many times, no one is staffed at the station to come out for help, even when the button functions properly. Even when drivers with disabilities can fuel their vehicles at a gas station, it can be a huge burden to fuel it themselves or have to plan and wait for attendants to do it for them.

We believe the disability community needs a better solution for fueling their vehicles, and mobile fueling is a great and accessible alternative. With the goal of supporting and uplifting the communities that we operate in, Booster has joined, along with numerous disability advocacy groups, the Californians for Smart Fueling Coalition (CSFC). The CSFC was established to promote independence for drivers with disabilities, advocate for accessible refueling options, and to push for legislation that promotes accessible mobile fueling.

Although this coalition started in California, we hope to share this issue countrywide. U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois noted that there are approximately “15 million drivers with disabilities in the United States [that] are unable to easily access gas.” This is a persistent problem with a solution that can be made available today, and we won’t stop until all drivers with disabilities have accessible alternatives to stay moving and independent.

Follow & support the Californians for Smart Fueling Coalition:

Facebook

Twitter

A special thanks and shoutout to the disability advocacy groups we work with:

California Foundation for Independent Living Centers

Muscular Dystrophy Association

National Council on Independent Living

NorCal SCI

Paralyzed Veterans of America

United Spinal Association

VetsFirst

The post Celebrating Disability Pride Month appeared first on BOOSTER.

Plastic straws and bags have been banned to protect the environment, but that isn’t the biggest contributor to the seven trillion microplastic particles researchers found in the San Francisco Bay and surrounding areas. Shockingly, the main source of these microplastics were tidbits of tires that invaded through storm runoff and wind.

Microplastics are plastic particles less than 5mm in size (roughly the length of a pencil eraser) and found all across the San Francisco Bay. The presence of microplastics in the Bay is at higher levels than in other tested urban water bodies of North America, putting Californians at a higher health risk.

A study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health noted that microplastics of this size easily find their way into humans through inhalation which can lead to respiratory disorders such as lung cancer. The findings also concluded that the ingestion of tire wear and tear microplastics through aquatic food intake “is to be expected.”

Tire microplastics are a common side effect of tire wear and tear, which can be accelerated by constantly stopping and starting in traffic, and magnified by long commutes.

Studies show the key to reducing tire microplastics is to keep your tires properly inflated. Proper tire inflation also provides other benefits to drivers in the long run, such as preventing rolling resistance when tires meet the rough surface of the road. This  requires more fuel consumption, thereby increasing carbon dioxide emissions.

Services like mobile fueling can assist during this time, both by fueling up vehicles (removing the commute to the gas station), as well as checking and inflating tires.

City governments in California need to push for state policy that improves transportation in the Bay and reduces traffic congestion. Until this occurs, or tires are made of a decomposing material, Californians need to take care to properly inflate their tires.

The post The Little Known Pollutant Your Car Leaves Behind (and What You Can Do About It) appeared first on BOOSTER.

To reach these goals, the California legislature must act on every opportunity to pass laws that will help reduce harmful emissions. One such proposal is AB 905, a bill that would give the California Air Resources Board (CARB), one of the strictest environmental regulators in the world, the authority to regulate mobile fuel delivery.

Mobile fueling is a service that, when delivered responsibly, eliminates air- and water-polluting fuel transfers and spillage. By using licensed and certified employees, responsible mobile fueling significantly reduces the 4 million gallons of gasoline spilled annually at traditional gas stations and reduces vehicle miles traveled to procure fuel. This energy delivery model will also play a major role in making alternative fuels more available to California residents and in decarbonizing last mile delivery.

Recently, however, the Assembly Committee on Transportation refused even to consider AB 905 due to objections by certain air districts, many of which have failed to develop rules for the industry. The failure to regulate has resulted in rogue services whose operations are 20 times worse for the environment than even traditional fuel stations. These vehicles refuel cars near schools and playgrounds, exposing children to carcinogenic substances. In other words, the air districts are opposed to regulation that would ensure the highest standards of operations for everyone.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), which regulates air quality in and around Los Angeles, is opposed to the concept of mobile fueling. The ostensible basis for their objection is environmental – despite the fact that SCAQMD is poised to miss its air quality attainment goals and has failed to rein in the rogue operators. California will suffer more pollution in the absence of the law.

In 2019, SCAQMD collected more than 30% of its $327 million reported budget from permitting and fees. Air districts wield their considerable power in the Assembly to keep collecting that money, despite the fact that they earn it in direct proportion to how much they allow companies to pollute their jurisdictions. SCAQMD has a perverse incentive to collect fees from dirty operations rather than actually improving air quality.

In refusing to bring the mobile fueling bill to a vote, the California Assembly has co-signed the actions of the air districts whose lack of action has created perverse incentives that will result in health risks to communities.

Sacramento should advocate the swift adoption of technologies that will ease the transition to renewable energy, reducing emissions and helping California reach its attainment goals.

The mobile fueling bill will do just that, creating reasonable environmental and safety standards for all.

The post California Legislature Must Act to Regulate Mobile Fueling and Support Public Health appeared first on BOOSTER.

Existing law designates the State Air Resources Board as the primary agency responsible for monitoring and regulating these emissions. Only until recently has the California legislature begun addressing an overlooked portion of the transportation sector: mobile fueling on-demand.

In February, Assembly Member Quirk introduced AB 905, a bill cosponsored by Assembly Members Baur-Kahan, Berman, Flora, and Greyson, that regulates mobile fueling on-demand tank vehicle performance standards.

Under this bill, mobile fueling would be regulated as a mobile source and its equipment certified for vapor recovery. At present, mobile fueling is regulated as a stationary source (a designation one commonly associates with traditional gas stations). Not only does this cause regulatory confusion since mobile fueling, by definition, entails a moving tanker truck to deliver fuel to clients, but also prohibits accurate measurements of vapor emissions. The proposed bill tightens requirements on mobile fueling units to ensure proper vapor recovery techniques, and equipment, are used and regulated.

This bill arrives at a pivotal juncture in California emission regulations. The state has moved past the climate policy planning phase into the implementation of the global energy transition away from fossil fuels to greener alternatives.

Legislation of this kind will complement the transition as current fossil fuel infrastructure rises to meet high environmental standards in the interim. Assembly Member Quirk’s bill proposes to make corrections to an outdated regulation that withholds necessary standards in the mobile fueling industry for proper fueling and vapor recovery.

Stay in touch! Sign up for our newsletter to get the latest in mobile fueling on-demand news delivered to your inbox.

The post California Assembly to Hear Bill That Would Allow for Mobile Fueling to Expand Safely with Greater Industry Regulations on Environmental Protection and Public Health appeared first on BOOSTER.

Inaugurations are about new beginnings, a chance to reflect on and commemorate who we are, and to consider where our country is headed as a result of our vote.

While the energy of an inauguration usually captivates, this year felt different. Recent security incidents resulted in a strict lockdown for residents.

When more than 25,000 National Guardsmen were deployed, a simple trip to the grocery store became an exercise in navigation and logistics. Naturally, the usual excitement of inaugural festivities was tempered.

Not only that, but the security apparatus had substantial energy requirements and local restrictions mandated that volatile liquids such as gasoline be kept out of places of interest throughout the week.

Despite these new rules, everything from equipment to generators to fleets to golf carts needed to be fueled to keep every player in the inaugural events safe. And these needs were present around the clock.

As such, there was high demand for fueling partners with experience in overcoming crisis, regulatory obstacles and safety challenges. And Booster stepped up to the challenge.

As Booster CEO and Founder Frank Mycroft noted in an interview with ABC’s Alex Stone, extreme security operations demand flawless execution and incomparable reliability. This is just the kind of service Booster is accustomed to delivering. And the exact offering we delivered.

In less than one week, we sought briefings by local and federal government agencies to ensure the security of our people. Customers and allies advised on supply chain considerations that matched our high standards of delivery. Our team of incredible Service Professionals was deployed immediately.

The Booster team rallied to ensure seamless delivery while keeping safety and security top-of-mind the entire time. Customers appreciated our support through such a complex moment in the energy delivery supply chain.

In total, Booster provided 10,000 gallons of fuel to inaugural fleets across government and business clients in one week. And as a proud Washingtonian, I had the pleasure of supporting my incredible colleagues while they provided solutions during one of our country’s most important traditions. After all, the American Show must go on.

The post Fueling Our Nation’s Capital During Inauguration appeared first on BOOSTER.

Since day one, safety and innovation have been our highest priorities at Booster Fuels. These ideals drove Booster’s creation and have accelerated our evolution since our first boost.

But 2020 was a year of breakneck change. The COVID-19 global pandemic taught us important lessons about resiliency and was a reminder that we can serve our communities better. We did this by offering a safer, more reliable, more efficient service that continued to create well-paying jobs, even under the severe limitations of COVID-19.

In June of 2020, we broadcast a webinar and published a companion blog article about the precautions we took to stem the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, we’ve learned a lot and have pivoted in meaningful ways to adopt procedures, processes and protocols that have not only worked, but that we plan to keep in action even after the stresses and workplace requirements of the pandemic are lifted. Below are a few highlights of our proactive response to the pandemic over the past 10 months.

Safety

The MFOD industry provides our communities with the only 100% contactless way to fuel their vehicles. These days, that’s more important than ever. Gas station pump handles are highly contaminated with pathogenic microbes and viruses, including COVID-19, can live on plastic surfaces like gas station pump handles for up to three days.

In response to the pandemic, Booster launched a Pop-up Gas Station (PUGS) service where we set up shop in the parking lots of essential places like pharmacies and grocery stores. We did this so that people who had to venture out on a run for essentials could cut down on extra stops and reduce their exposure risk. Instead of Booster fueling customers at their offices, our customers filled  up by simply coming to one of our pop-up locations, where mini-tankers awaited app-based orders and our service professional team took care of the rest.

In addition to meeting customers at essential spots, we continued our usual at-work delivery service for essential employees. Companies such as Gilead, that have scientists working in labs, continued using Booster. We even launched our service at a large biotechnology company  that wanted to encourage its scientists to drive straight from home to the lab — no added stops or risk along the way.

In addition to providing services that kept our communities safe, we’ve adopted new safety measures like staggered shifts and frequent, routine cleaning of high-touch surfaces to keep the Booster team safe.

Efficiency

The pandemic has pushed many people to start shopping online, and last-mile delivery companies are busier than ever. Booster works with many of these companies to ensure that their vehicles are always fueled, limiting delivery drivers’ risks at the gas station and helping them deliver up to nearly 20 more packages per route.

Additionally, Booster’s service helps increase each last-mile delivery company’s efficiency. This helps them deliver more goods, faster, and for a better cost to the end consumer. As a result, our communities get more access to the goods that they need and reduce their need to go into busy stores.

Reliability

People, companies, food banks, ambulance services and fire departments have relied on Booster throughout the pandemic. So many services have been forced to shut down or pause due to shelter-in-place orders. Booster is honored to be a consistent part of the solution.

Booster launched its services at The San Mateo Consolidated Fire Department (SMCFD) in 2020. The SMCFD team was concerned about effectively protecting its 154 firefighters from COVID-19 exposure, especially with fire season in view. For emergency services, partnering with Booster has not only helped keep employees safe, but also continued to reliably service their vehicles so they could be always at the ready whenever duty calls.

Meaningful Job Creation

One of the most consequential long-term impacts of the coronavirus pandemic has been to the economy. Continued unemployment, halting economic growth, diminishing state revenues and overwhelmed supply chains will persist for months – if not years – to come.

Booster and the mobile fueling industry promise to deliver thousands of new, salaried jobs with benefits and job training. But we’ll also provide relief to front-line workers, local governments and even generate millions in tax revenues, too.

Not only has Booster been a consistent creator of meaningful jobs, we’ve identified the safest, most efficient ways to train new employees while stemming the spread of the pandemic. It’s this kind of innovative thinking that led to the creation of Booster in the first place. For this reason, Booster will likely continue using these revised training methods even after the pandemic restrictions have been lifted.

The pandemic has forced our industry and our country to change in ways that are at once reactive, but at the same time, innovative. As we continue to safely lead the mobile fueling industry and evolve inside the grip of this global virus, we will identify the best ways to keep our people and our customers safe and continue to adopt tomorrow’s ideas, helping customers nationwide stay safely and efficiently fueled.

If you’re curious about the best ways to keep your employees safe, please download our full safety guidelines here.

The post How COVID Has Changed Our Business For The Better. appeared first on BOOSTER.

Immediate Impact

Come January 20th, COVID-19 relief and recovery efforts will be front and center, and most major domestic policy issues will be seen through the lens of reducing the impact of the virus while spurring economic recovery and job creation. Stricter environmental protections and standards, and the energy and infrastructure projects needed to realize them, will be key to realizing ambitious new goals such as a plan towards net zero carbon emissions. For the mobile energy industry, that will mean using our business models to create the energy infrastructure of the future, and being ready to deploy our vehicles for biofuels, electric and hydrogen customers. Booster, a contactless energy service provider that creates solid middle class jobs, is particularly well-suited to these efforts.

Environmental Protections

The Biden-Harris team has stated its intentions for a clean energy plan that places environmental protections and climate change goals at the forefront. In theory, these plans would move toward the eradication of fossil fuels and the complete overhaul of the energy economy toward low- or no-carbon energy production, realizing the Paris Accord climate goals that include net-zero emissions by 2050. In practice, while we believe these goals are achievable, present-day energy practices dictated by the persistently high market demand for conventional fuel will require the new administration to pursue its energy plans more pragmatically. This may mean investing in vehicular technologies that drastically reduce GHG emissions, while laying down the infrastructure that can be easily adapted for the alternative energies of the future.

Infrastructure

Another pillar of the Biden-Harris plan is a significant national effort at clean, modern and innovative energy infrastructure. While we don’t predict a large-scale infrastructure package, which would require an act of Congress that would be difficult to achieve while recovering from the pandemic, we do expect the use of executive powers to fund green energy investments at the state level. These investments would likely focus on transportation and supply chains that reduce carbon footprints, enhance overall efficiencies and advance our goals toward net-zero emissions. We also predict R&D dollars into clean energy projects and tax cuts to businesses with proven renewable and EV technologies.

The Biden-Harris team has been clear that they’ll want to achieve these goals without burdening consumers with extra energy transportation costs, without causing greater hardships for communities of color, and while creating middle-class jobs that were lost during the pandemic.

What’s Next

Booster is a forward thinker when it comes to developing creative strategies for reducing the impacts of energy delivery on the environment. As the leading same-day contactless energy delivery service, we offer big advantages to the environment and to human health and well-being. We do this through reduced emissions, spillage, congestion, and vehicle miles traveled. We also do this by using trained Service Professionals whose practices radically reduce the approximate 6 million gallons of spillage occurring at gas stations each year. Every “boost” saves customers 20 minutes, 2.2 miles, 1.1 pounds of CO₂, and $1.08 cents of wear and tear to their vehicles. In 2020 alone, we’ve prevented more than 2.3 million VMTs and 1.1 million pounds of CO₂.

We believe in a clean energy future and we believe we’re developing the infrastructure to get us there. As an energy-agnostic company providing energy-as-a-service at competitive prices, we’re laying the foundation to transport the next generation of energy services, be they electric, hydrogen or other emerging technologies, to consumers nationwide.

The post Energy transitions: what a Biden-Harris administration means for the future of energy as a service appeared first on BOOSTER.

Veterans Day is about honoring those who have served our country and all of their sacrifices. This year, I’m dedicating this message to the 4.7 million veterans with disabilities in the United States. These people who proudly served their country rely on us every day to do our part to say thank you. I’m proud to work for a company on a mission to make fueling more accessible for veterans with disabilities, and everyone in the mobility disability community. This year, Booster partnered with VetsFirst and the Paralyzed Veterans of America to deliver on that promise.

As we all celebrate and honor those who have served, I invite everyone reading this to join me in pledging your support for our mission to make fueling up more accessible for all.

Thank you for your support,

Dave Sandifer
VP of Operations, Booster Fuels

Click here to pledge your support for mobile fueling.

The post A letter in support of our veterans appeared first on BOOSTER.