Corbett's reelection bid runs on natural gas, but not the campaign bus

• Katie Colaneri
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  Katie Colaneri is a reporter for StateImpact Pennsylvania and WHYY in Philadelphia covering energy and the environment. Before joining StateImpact, Katie worked as an investigative and enterprise reporter at WBGO in Newark, New Jersey. She covered some of New Jersey's biggest stories including the devastation and aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and Tropical Storm Irene in 2011, as well as the day-to-day triumphs and struggles to revitalize state's largest city. A native of New Jersey with roots in South Central Pennsylvania, Katie holds a bachelor's degree from Wellesley College.

Governor Tom Corbett has kicked off a reelection tour that’s taking him across the commonwealth from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia over the next several days. But as Corbett touts the growth of the state’s Marcellus Shale industry under his administration’s watch, he won’t be using natural gas to get him from one stop to the next.
Campaign staffers told StateImpact Pennsylvania that the tour bus does not run on compressed natural gas, or CNG.
Press Secretary Billy Pitman said the campaign had simply decided to use the same bus company it chartered in 2008.
But at a stop on Wednesday afternoon at Linde Construction, a Luzerne County pipeline company that has benefited from Pennsylvania’s natural gas rush, Corbett’s campaign manager Mike Barley told witf’s Mary Wilson a CNG-powered bus would have been too expensive.
“I’d love to get it on CNG,” said Barley. “We’ll look into it. It’s a matter of availability to be honest with you.”

StateImpact Pennsylvania has previously reported the higher cost of CNG vehicles and a lack of infrastructure are keeping natural gas from becoming a primary transportation fuel source. Barley said there were not enough CNG fueling stations across the state to complete Corbett’s campaign tour.
“They’re not as plentiful as they will be eventually, hopefully,” he said.

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