U.S. Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, chairman of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, is scheduled to address attendees at the grand opening of IdleAire’s Advanced Travel Center Electrification (ATE) system in Dallas, Texas, on Wednesday.

The event is scheduled at 2 p.m. EST at the TravelCenters of America’s (TA) Dallas South location. TA Chairman and CEO Ed Kuhn is also scheduled to deliver remarks.
Young is one of four sponsors of the Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users" (H.R. 3550), the $375 billion highway and transit bill announced last month. The new bill is expected to create 1.7 million jobs by 2009 and increase federal funding for highway projects to $298 billion and transit funding to $69.2 billion over the next six years. Funding over the last six years totaled $215 billion. The state of the nation’s transportation infrastructure, along with highway congestion, safety and the new legislation, are expected to be among topics Congressman Young will address in Dallas.
Kuhn is expected to address TA’s initiatives for growth and customer service, and how IdleAire fits into TA’s future as the largest full-service travel center chain in the country.
The Dallas site is the first IdleAire installation in Texas and the first in a TA facility. A second has already opened in Baytown and a third will open soon in San Antonio. All are in TA facilities.
IdleAire’s ATE system allows drivers of long-haul trucks to turn off their engines instead of idling them as they traditionally have during required rest breaks or while waiting to load or unload.
Unlike traditional "truckstop electrification" and other idling alternatives, the IdleAire system requires no expensive or heavy retrofits (or additional maintenance) for trucks, nor any capital investment by travel center owners. Travel center owners, in fact, directly share in system revenue, and truck owners pay for services only as used. IdleAire installs, operates and maintains the system, and cost of standard services for truck owners who sign IdleAire agreements is $1.25 per hour, considerably less than the cost of diesel fuel used to idle for the same period. Additional savings are accumulated by reduced engine maintenance and extended engine life.
Founded in June 2000, IdleAire Technologies is headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn.
For more information, call (865) 342-3600.