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Biobus
This article originally appeared in the Fall 2001 issue of Broken Pencil
Scrounge!
Scrounge!
By: Alex Mlynek
Hal Hewett is one of a growing group of people who are realizing the potential of alternative energy sources. To bring his message to the people, he is riding across Canada in his S.U.B. (Sgrnge Utility Bus), a converted bus that actually uses vegetable oil as fuel. Just as he twists the word "bus" inside out, Hal turns the concept of public transportation on its ear with his unique "bio vehicle." The mission of the S.U.B. is not only to highlight vegetable oil as an alternative energy source, but also to show people that taking care of well-built things can reduce waste.
Hal launched his vegetable oil propelled, cross-Canada mission in mid June of 2001. He is joined on the trip by his brother Geoffrey, their cousin, 76-year-old Anne Minard and family friend Anita Singh. Hal converted the diesel engine so that it would run on discarded restaurant oil (the kind they use to cook chicken wings and french fries in your neighbourhood pub). "We ask when we can," says Hal. "Otherwise we take it. People are very receptive… incredulous, in fact."
In order to get across their message, that people needn’t be obsessed with sterile, shiny, glossy stuff, they are handing out stickers and dumpster diving acquisition forms, designed by Geoffrey, a printer and book artist. Hal launched the S.U.B. from Mile Zero on the Trans-Canada highway, and has spent as little money as possible, choosing to dumpster dive, busk (Hal plays trumpet, accordion and glockenspiel, while Geoffrey rocks out on the guitar and banjo) and otherwise scrounge for food.
Running a bus on oil requires a fair bit of mechanical knowledge, as well as the ability to fix an engine. Since it’s running on restaurant oil, Hal has to change the filters often because they get clogged up with fish and chips. Hal traded a propane fuelled milk truck for the 37-year-old bus, which was previously owned by both Greyhound and B.C. Transit. He spent the summer of 2000 researching the engineering side of using vegetable oil for fuel, reading a number of books on the subject, including an engineering text that’s first edition was printed in the 1930s. "The older books were way more useful." Says Hal.
In September of 2000, Hal set up shop in a warehouse on Vancouver Island, owned by a North Vietnamese family, who not only let him live and work there for free, but also helped him get the bus in order for the trip. While Hal had no formal training, he had "a lot of experience" working in mechanics. As a tribute to the family, Hal posted "Hanoi" as the point of destination on the front of the bus. The S.U.B. has been put together mainly through scrounging for parts. The bus, which measures 40 feet on the outside, has a toilet, shower, couch, cooler, hot water heater, range and a wood stove, not a bad ride for a low-resource trip. Hal gleefully describes his S.U.B. as "stealthy."
The trip hasn’t been all about education and work. In Montreal they were given $400 by rave promoters to transport people to the rave site, and even got into the event for free. "We’re trying to show people that by being resourceful you can have more fun." Says Hal. This has involved a fair amount of drinking, which has led to at least one run-in with the police.
The S.U.B is joined philosophically by the people who drove across the United States a few years ago in the Veggie Van (www.veggievan.org), a group that’s trying to educate people about the feasibility of Biodiesel. As well as the Hemp Car that’s, well, running on hemp oil. The S.U.B. has also participated in a critical mass rally in Winnipeg that included 2 Bio buses, the requisite bike riders and a skateboarder. They also met up with the Climate Change Caravan, a group from Mount Allison University, in Carlisle, Saskatchewan.
Hal is taking both still pictures and video of the S.U.B mission, which he hopes to assemble into "something." You can see some of the images, and read more about the adventures of the Hewett brothers at www.hugecorp.net.
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