xcel
10-09-2006, 10:52 AM
Whether the township buys hybrids is up in the air, but the vehicles do need to be replaced regardless. (http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/111-10092006-724327.html)
Melissa Busch - Bucks County Courier Times - Oct. 9, 2006
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2006_Ford_Escape_Hybrid2.jpg
2007 Ford Escape Hybird - 36/31 city/highway is far better then any SUV currently in a municipal fleet.
WARMINSTER - Warminster is thinking green.
The township would like to replace some of its gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles with environmentally friendly, gasoline-electric hybrid SUVs.
Warminster supervisor Richard Luce Jr. wants the township to get rid of four SUVs - three used by the police department and one used by the fire marshal - and buy four hybrid Ford Escapes.
Luce says now is the time to consider the hybrids as they prepare the budget for next year. The township's preliminary budget will be presented in the next few weeks.
“I would like to see the township make an example and go with environmentally friendly vehicles,” Luce said. “I'd like to try saving money and the environment.”
The Ford Escape is a hybrid SUV that gets 36 mpg in the city and 31 mpg on the highway. Hybrids get a higher mpg rate because they shut off fuel and use an electric motor when the car is coasting or braking.
The 2007 model is being sold for about $27,000, according to Ford's Web site.
Luce said the township would apply for grants through the Greater Philadelphia Clean Cities Program. The program provides grants of $2,000 for each hybrid vehicle a municipality purchases.
Whether the township buys hybrids is up in the air, but the vehicles do need to be replaced regardless. There are more than 100,000 miles on each. The township typically replaces vehicles when the odometers reach more than 100,000 miles, Luce said.
States, cities and towns across the nation are replacing gasoline-powered vehicles in their fleets with hybrids and vehicles that use alternative fuels.
Philadelphia has been gradually adding hybrids to its city vehicle fleet. At least two dozen of the vehicles in its 6,000-vehicle fleet are hybrids. Last month, the city of Des Moines, Iowa paid more than $220,000 for eight new hybrid police cars.
Cities such as Seattle and Pittsburgh have made the move to hybrid buses, a use that some say is perfect for a hybrid because of all the stop-and-go, heavy-duty driving.
The Bush administration is working to get more fuel-efficient vehicles on the road through consumer education and with tax credits for hybrids.
That energy independence has never been more important than at a time when gas prices are skyrocketing, the U.S. has become reliant on oil imported from politically unfriendly nations, and worldwide competition for fossil fuels, particular in China and India, will only intensify each day.
Eventually, Luce also would like to see some of the township's public works vehicles replaced with ones that run on compressed natural gas. None of those vehicles is ready to be replaced just yet, he said.
Last year, Bensalem replaced six of its older vehicles with ones that run entirely off CNG. Cars that run on CNG have the power and speed of regular vehicles but with higher fuel efficiency, a fraction of the greenhouse gas emissions and about $1 less per gallon in fuel costs.
Bensalem paid $21,000 for each Honda CNG.
Vehicles that run on CNG have made major inroads into select markets. Regional users include Temple University shuttles and security vans, Bryn Mawr College's 54-passenger CNG/diesel bus and the Lower Merion School District's 68 fully dedicated CNG school buses.
Melissa Busch - Bucks County Courier Times - Oct. 9, 2006
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2006_Ford_Escape_Hybrid2.jpg
2007 Ford Escape Hybird - 36/31 city/highway is far better then any SUV currently in a municipal fleet.
WARMINSTER - Warminster is thinking green.
The township would like to replace some of its gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles with environmentally friendly, gasoline-electric hybrid SUVs.
Warminster supervisor Richard Luce Jr. wants the township to get rid of four SUVs - three used by the police department and one used by the fire marshal - and buy four hybrid Ford Escapes.
Luce says now is the time to consider the hybrids as they prepare the budget for next year. The township's preliminary budget will be presented in the next few weeks.
“I would like to see the township make an example and go with environmentally friendly vehicles,” Luce said. “I'd like to try saving money and the environment.”
The Ford Escape is a hybrid SUV that gets 36 mpg in the city and 31 mpg on the highway. Hybrids get a higher mpg rate because they shut off fuel and use an electric motor when the car is coasting or braking.
The 2007 model is being sold for about $27,000, according to Ford's Web site.
Luce said the township would apply for grants through the Greater Philadelphia Clean Cities Program. The program provides grants of $2,000 for each hybrid vehicle a municipality purchases.
Whether the township buys hybrids is up in the air, but the vehicles do need to be replaced regardless. There are more than 100,000 miles on each. The township typically replaces vehicles when the odometers reach more than 100,000 miles, Luce said.
States, cities and towns across the nation are replacing gasoline-powered vehicles in their fleets with hybrids and vehicles that use alternative fuels.
Philadelphia has been gradually adding hybrids to its city vehicle fleet. At least two dozen of the vehicles in its 6,000-vehicle fleet are hybrids. Last month, the city of Des Moines, Iowa paid more than $220,000 for eight new hybrid police cars.
Cities such as Seattle and Pittsburgh have made the move to hybrid buses, a use that some say is perfect for a hybrid because of all the stop-and-go, heavy-duty driving.
The Bush administration is working to get more fuel-efficient vehicles on the road through consumer education and with tax credits for hybrids.
That energy independence has never been more important than at a time when gas prices are skyrocketing, the U.S. has become reliant on oil imported from politically unfriendly nations, and worldwide competition for fossil fuels, particular in China and India, will only intensify each day.
Eventually, Luce also would like to see some of the township's public works vehicles replaced with ones that run on compressed natural gas. None of those vehicles is ready to be replaced just yet, he said.
Last year, Bensalem replaced six of its older vehicles with ones that run entirely off CNG. Cars that run on CNG have the power and speed of regular vehicles but with higher fuel efficiency, a fraction of the greenhouse gas emissions and about $1 less per gallon in fuel costs.
Bensalem paid $21,000 for each Honda CNG.
Vehicles that run on CNG have made major inroads into select markets. Regional users include Temple University shuttles and security vans, Bryn Mawr College's 54-passenger CNG/diesel bus and the Lower Merion School District's 68 fully dedicated CNG school buses.