photo by Sarah A. Miller/Tyler Morning Telegraph 

The city of Tyler’s compressed natural gas-powered garbage trucks run with much less noise than the diesel-powered variety that customers sometimes call about being missed on the route, Russ Jackson, solid waste/vehicle services manager with the city, said.

“They sometimes wait for the sound of the trucks to remind them to bring the trash cans out,” Jackson said with a laugh. The quieter sound and the cheaper fuel and maintenance to operate those CNG-powered trucks are two of the main reasons the city has begun to add more to its fleet.

The city rolled out its first two CNG-powered garbage trucks in April 2012, and purchased three more of the CNG-powered trucks in April, bringing the total to five in its 41-truck fleet. The first trucks were purchased using grants from the State Energy Conservation Office as part of a special city pilot program announced in 2011.

CNG is a colorless, odorless, tasteless natural gas, drawn from domestically drilled natural gas wells in conjunction with crude oil production, according to the CNG Now! educational website. It is made by compressing natural gas to less than one percent of its volume at standard atmospheric pressure.

“We have five or six more (trucks) on the table, and we will go out for bids, depending on funding,” Jackson said. The city hopes to have a total of 11 or 12 CNG-powered trucks by April 2014, he said.

At the July 10 City Council meeting, Jackson said his department will receive a $142,000 grant from the Texas Railroad Commission for the three CNG-powered trucks already purchased in April of this year.

“We’re trying to purchase all of those trucks with grants,” Jackson said.

Although numerous manufacturers offer CNG- powered vehicles for use as garbage trucks, taxi fleets, and buses for public entities, there are fewer options available to the consumer who wants to drive a vehicle powered by CNG, according to the CNG Now! website.

There are some choices for consumers in Tyler who want to drive a car by an alternate fuel source.

Two Tyler car dealerships said on Monday that they sell a few vehicles, which operate on either electricity or as a hybrid.

Dustin Flugrath, sales manager at Peltier Nissan, said he has one electric car on his lot, the Nissan Leaf, which is 100 percent electric. The car can travel 100 miles on a single charge, Flugrath said.

“There haven’t been many sales of those — the electric cars are mainly made for city driving,” he said.

David Bates, general manager at Peltier Chevrolet, said his dealership sells the Chevy Volt, which runs on both electricity and gasoline power. The car can be plugged in and operate off a battery-powered generator for 30 miles, Bates said. Then the car switches to a gasoline generator, which can go about 300 miles, he said.

“It’s not one of our best sellers — they like their trucks in East Texas,” Bates said.

Consumers who purchase cars that operate on alternative fuel sources, such as electricity or as a hybrid can receive a federal tax credit, Bates said. That credit is about $7,500.

The Chevy Volts are not any cheaper than a gasoline-powered car, he said. According to the Chevrolet website, the list price for a Chevy Volt is $39,995.

There are some CNG-powered pickup trucks, which are beginning to be sold, Bates said.

The U.S. currently has about 250,000 natural gas vehicles on the road today – less than .01 percent of total U.S. vehicles.

In other countries, CNG vehicles total more than 11 million worldwide. Expanding the number of CNG fueling stations would allow for the increase of CNG vehicles on the road, the CNG Now! web site stated.

A private taxicab company, The Accessible Taxi Cab Company of Tyler, which powers its’ cabs with CNG, was the latest to adopt the use of the alternative fuel on June 26.

An announcement also was made on that date that the first public access CNG filling station would open in Tyler this fall. CNG stations are located in Dallas, Longview and Shreveport, Jamal Moharer, owner of Accessible Taxi Cab said.

City officials said although diesel-powered garbage trucks are less expensive, the fuel savings for the CNG trucks make up the difference.

“We have saved $60,000 to date on fuel costs since the pilot (CNG) program began 1 1/2 years ago,” Jackson said.

The cost of a diesel-powered truck without grant funds is $258,352 and the cost of a CNG — powered truck is $305,940.

“It pays off, because the cost of a gallon of CNG is about $1.88,” Jackson said.

The city trucks are fueled each day at 3 p.m. at a special timed CNG pump, which sits behind the city’s solid waste building.

Maintenance on the city’s CNG trucks is much less expensive.

The city spends about $40,000 each year for maintenance on a diesel truck, including oil and tires and about $13,000 a year for maintenance on a CNG-powered truck, Jackson said.

“The oil is clean when it is changed on a CNG-powered truck,” he said.

One of the biggest selling points for CNG power is its availability and reliability in being a fuel source for the trucks, Jackson said.

He cited Hurricane Katrina in 2005 in New Orleans and how gasoline was not readily available during that time.

“We have to plan for the worst so we can take care of our customers,” Jackson said, adding that police vehicles would also need a reliable fuel source in an emergency.

Other cities in Texas have begun to make the switch to alternative fuel sources for their vehicles, according to information received from the State Comptroller’s Office.

Along with the city of Tyler, Austin, Houston, Temple, El Paso, and San Antonio have made the switch from gasoline to either hybrid-powered or liquefied petroleum gas-powered vehicles in the past two years after receiving grants from SECO.

School districts throughout the state and some colleges have also made that switch.

For more information about locations of CNG fueling locations and electric charging stations, go to www.cngnow.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leroy Sparrow, vehicle services fleet manager.

. “We have 16 total light duty pickup trucks which are powered by both CNG and gasoline.” “We even have a forklift here that runs on CNG.