Montreal, Canada will run its entire bus fleet on biodiesel by 2008 and will buy eight hybrid buses to test in the city’s cold climate.

According to this story posted on the CBC’s web site, it should be an affordable proposition for the city:

All Société de transport de Montréal (STM) buses will run on biodiesel fuel by 2008, and the transition should be fairly inexpensive, said president Claude Trudel.

Bus engines can run on biodiesel fuel without requiring any modifications, and the cost of a fill-up should be the same. The STM even stands to save money on maintenance, because biodiesel is “a cleanser, so it will keep your engines and your cylinders cleaner,” said spokesman Luc Tremblay.

Plus, instead of smelling like burning petroleum, the exhaust will smell more like french fries.

Officials believe the move will be the environmental equivilant of taking 1,400 cars off the road and will help the city attain its goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 20% over the next five years.