CINCINNATI -- Mark Schuerman's Volkswagen Golf looks like any other car. But his is about to take a ride into the future -- of fuel consumption.

Schuerman fills the tank with a biodiesel blend at his corner Chevron station in Mason. The price is comparable, but Schuerman said there are still benefits.

"Definitely energy independence, and the environment, too," he said.

Schuerman isn't alone. As gas and diesel prices rise, so does biodiesel use.

Lykins Oil distributes biodiesel locally.

"We're seeing a bump in it here lately," Lykins Oil President Jeff Lykins said. "People want to use it. Now it's that the supply side has to catch up with the need of the market."

Griffin Industries in Northern Kentucky can make biodiesel from soy or even cooking oils from fast-food restaurants. The blend can run any diesel engine.

In fact, Cincinnati Metro buses already run on the biodiesel blend.

"That's the nice thing about this fuel. We can vary the mix from 100 percent petroleum to 100 percent soy without doing anything else but mixing it in our tanks," Metro CEO Mike Setzer said.