Did you know you are on a biofuel bus?

I've been getting the bus the last couple of weeks as I'm waiting for new glasses so I can drive again. One of the things I noticed was that some of the buses in Christchurch have small biofuel notices on them, and there's one with a full paint job promoting biofuels.

I had a look on the Environment Canterbury web site, and sure enough, they're running a trial. It's only a 5% blend, but it may increase to 20%, and it's only on a few buses, but it's a start.

Getting on the bus last night, there was a woman with a clipboard asking each passenger "do you know you're on a biofuel bus?". It made me wonder about the purpose of asking the question. Was it to see how many people were aware of the pilot? Was it to inform people of the fact that biofuels were being used? It's one of those problems in social research. You can't ask the question without changing the knowledge of those you are asking. I could almost see the more astute of the passengers thinking "well, yes, because you're asking me that question, and the question implies that I am about to get on a biofuel bus".

But, whatever the rationale behind their questioning methods, I think it's a fantastic initiative and I'm going to get the bus more often, even when I do get my glasses.