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Article: Ports gear up for Clean Trucks Program
- Article from:
- Daily Breeze
- Article date:
- September 28, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2008 Daily Breeze. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Cesar Olivarez climbs into the cab of his 1992 big rig and turns
the key.
Black fumes spew from the exhaust pipe as he settles into the
driver's seat and prepares for another haul from the Port of Long
Beach to a local warehouse, a ritual he's practiced for the past 27
years.
A week's worth of work brings the independent trucker $1,500, but
a third of his earnings are guzzled up by rising fuel costs. On top
of that, Olivarez shells out money for repairs to his 16-year-old
rig, parking fees and the occasional traffic citation from police
patrolling the ports.
"There are so many expenses just for work that it's hard to pay
the rent and buy food sometimes," said Olivarez, 49, of Long Beach. ...