St. Cloud bus, a well-oiled machine

The Husky Fried Ride, a 40-foot-long bus with 35 seats, is powered by a mix of 80 percent recycled vegetable oil and 20 percent diesel fuel. The diesel is needed to keep the fuel fluid in cold weather.

Star Tribune

Last update: April 19, 2008 - 12:07 AM

No, you won't get fries with that.

A St. Cloud Metro Bus vehicle powered by recycled deep fryer vegetable oil was rolled out on Friday as part of Earth Day festivities at St. Cloud State University.

The vegetable oil comes from deep fryers at St. Cloud State, where Sodexo provides food service for Garvey Commons and Atwood Center. That's oil that would otherwise be hauled away.

The vehicle, Metro Bus #701, operates on Husky Shuttle park-and-ride routes and on four Campus Clipper routes in St. Cloud.

Metro Bus officials say they believe this is the first metro bus system in the nation to use waste vegetable oil to power a public bus.

PAUL WALSH

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