Propane autogas is making headlines this week, as fleets across the country are discovering the benefits of the most viable alternative fuel on the market.
In the Pacific Northwest, fleets in Washington State are switching to autogas through Alliance AutoGas partners Blue Star Gas and Carburetor Connection. The City of Edmonds is in the process of converting 17 fleet vehicles to autogas, including 16 Crown Victoria police vehicles and a public works truck. Once all 17 propane-powered vehicles are up and running, the City will save around $60,000 on fuel costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 40 tons annually. Sea-Tac’s largest airport shuttle fleet MasterPark, Seattle Children’s Hospital and the Washington Department of Transportation are also running fleet vehicles on autogas.
Meanwhile, yet another County in North Carolina is considering the switch to clean, American-made propane autogas for the significant fuel cost savings:
A proposal to convert a portion of the Sampson County Sheriff’s Office fleet to propane autogas could save $25,000 a year, and start a chain of conversions in the county that could save much more, local officials said.
[County officials] met with representatives from Parker Gas, Alliance AutoGas and the Raleigh Police Department recently to attend a presentation about the program at the Sheriff’s Office. Clack said Raleigh police have been running several converted cars for 
approximately one year and, not only have they not experienced any problems or maintenance issues with the system, they intend to convert more cars in the coming year.
Raleigh has converted 20 vehicles, 10 at first and another 10 since. With those first 10 vehicles alone, Raleigh reportedly saved $30,000. There are 25 law enforcement agencies in the Southeast that have similar ongoing programs.
And in the Midwest, Alliance partner Como Oil & Propane is making the Alliance AutoGas complete program more available to area fleets–starting with their own home service fleet.
“A variety of users are looking for alternatives. School districts, fleets and taxi companies are flocking to propane,” said Como Chief Operating Officer Will Norman. His own company is leading the charge, converting one light-duty, one medium-duty and one heavy-duty truck to burn propane as a test of the alternative fuel’s ability to cut costs and reduce maintenance.
“Natural gas is the cheapest product out there,” Norman explained, “but the infrastructure costs to put together a fueling station for natural gas or CNG is 10 to 15 times more expensive. Vehicle conversion costs are more than two times costlier than an LP conversion.”
American-made, more affordable to implement than other alternative fuels, clean-burning and cheaper than gasoline: propane autogas delivers all of this for fleets, along with the dependability of an established fuel. Keep checking back on Autogas Fleet for more clean fleet success stories!
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