PORTLAND, OR – Diesel prices in Portland, Ore., are expected to go up after new EPA requirements go into effect next year, according to the Portland Tribune. All diesel fuel for on-road use will have to contain far less sulfur than it currently does once the EPA requirements take effect in 2006. TriMet Public Transportation of Portland is expected to be hit hard from the price increase. The buses consume more than six million gallons of diesel per year, and a $3 million budget gap has been created and forced bus fare increases. TriMet predicted a diesel wholesale price of $1.02 a gallon, but the actual price recently peaked at about double that. Tony Bryant, TriMet's director of bus maintenance, said TriMet had hoped to switch to the cleaner fuel early, but the cost was too great. Bryant said TriMet is doing everything it can to increase fuel efficiency by watching tire pressure, decreasing bus idling and modifying transmission systems so that buses spend more time in third and fourth gears and less time in first and second. The city and Multnomah County are also mixing 20 percent biodiesel with 80 percent regular diesel to reduce pollution from their construction equipment and street sweepers.