LEWISTON — Scott Riccio is an environmentally friendly kind of guy.
He drives plastic jugs over to the transfer station on his lunch hour to make sure they get recycled, and he added motion sensors to office lights so they don’t stay on all the time.
He’s also a businessman.
Last spring, Riccio spent $1 million-plus on three new buses engineered to pollute less and run on less fuel.
A lot less fuel.
Six months in and the owner of Northeast Charter & Tour Co. says he’s on track to save 10,000 gallons of diesel in a year — good for the air, great for his bottom line.
“In this economy, you’re going to make money two ways: You’re going to raise your rates or conserve,” Riccio said Friday. “As the economy stays the way it is, I can’t raise my rates.”
Riccio founded Northeast in 1999. Headquartered in Lewiston, he has 68 employees — nine new drivers added in the last five months — and a fleet of 22 full-size, mini- and school buses.
In the spring, he replaced three older buses with two full-size coaches and a hybrid minibus that meet 2010 Environmental Protection Agency pollution standards. Special transmissions mean an improvement in miles per gallon. His other full-size coaches average 5.5 to 6. These: 8 to 9.
In March, Riccio also launched a driver incentive program: Watch their speed and idling, as measured in spent fuel, and he’ll make it worth their while. That’s still in its infancy, but “we’re hoping for savings,” he said.
Riccio hit financial and environmental pay dirt two years ago when he installed a 6,000-gallon diesel tank on-site for buses to fill up. He figures it saves the company 3,000 to 4,000 gallons of diesel a year just in gas that would have been used driving to the gas station. Add to that hundreds of man-hours behind the wheel going to top off, he said.
Northeast has contracts to charter the Portland Sea Dogs, Lewiston Maineiacs, Bates and Bowdoin College students, Auburn-Lewiston YMCA kids and the occasional famous passenger. This summer, four Northeast charters spirited Taylor Swift’s fans and guests around Southern Maine during a video shoot, and one minibus was part of the presidential motorcade during Barack Obama’s visit to Mount Desert Island.
“It was exciting (Obama) was coming to our state,” he said. “It was even more exciting to be part of it.”
kskelton@sunjournal.com
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- Scott Riccio, owner of Northeast Charter & Tour in Lewiston, has invested $1 million in three new fuel-friendly buses — one smaller one is a hybrid, left, and the two larger one have special transmissions.
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