Alternative-fuel vehicle part of mayor's 20 Solutions campaign

11:00 PM, Mar. 20, 2011 | 12Comments
Mayor Ashton Hayward / News Journal file photoTwitterFacebookShare
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To learn more about the Honda Civic GX model, visit http://automobiles.honda.com/civic-gx.
Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward has authorized the purchase of the city's first compressed natural gas vehicle for the city-owned utility, Energy Services of Pensacola.

Hayward also called on local businesses to consider including CNG vehicles as a cleaner option for their private fleets and to partner with the city on the effort.
The purchase of the $24,995 vehicle, a Honda Civic GX, is the first step in one of Hayward's 20 Solutions campaign pledge to explore converting city vehicles to natural gas as a way to save money on rising gasoline prices and reduce emissions into the environment.
"Given what we saw last summer with the oil spill, what we're seeing now in the Middle East and Japan, and with gas prices already at $3.50 as the national average, I decided it was time for us to start looking at natural gas vehicles," Hayward said. "Natural gas is cheaper, it's cleaner and better for the environment, and owning a natural gas utility like ESP makes it a pretty convenient vehicle to fill up."
Hayward said he will reach out to other government entities and private companies to explore their interest in participating in a pilot project for CNG vehicles for their fleets.
"Fuel costs, as well as the environmental costs, are going to keep rising for any organization with a fleet of vehicles," he said. "By reaching out to other government and private entities, the city can help those organizations reduce their own costs, cut down on pollution and support a key enterprise of the city."
The Honda purchased by the city was chosen because it was the only smaller, sedan-sized vehicle manufactured as a CNG vehicle.
Other vehicles are either larger, commercial vehicles that are more expensive, or are retrofitted from the original manufactured version thus losing some factory warranties and other customer support options as well as mounting extensive conversion costs.
Energy Services of Pensacola Director Don Suarez said the Honda Civic GX was a good vehicle to begin the transition.
"We will be sending two of our technicians to a CNG training in a few weeks, so we'll be ready to handle the new car and perform basic maintenance on it when it arrives," Suarez said.


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