Government Energy Policy, Business and Technology

Making It Easier for Public Fleets to Adopt Use of Alternative Fuel Vehicles

Route Fifty: WASHINGTON — La Porte, Indiana, was flirting with bankruptcy in 2013, when the city opted to begin replacing its gas-powered public transit fleet with liquefied petroleum gas, or propane, vehicles.

“We found them to be cheaper replacements,” said Mayor Blair Milo on Monday, during the National Conference of Regions environment committee meeting in the nation’s capital.

By obtaining federal grants through the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Improvement program, La Porte established an 80-20 percent match with the city only on the hook for 20 percent of the new vehicles’ cost. Now La Porte operates Indiana’s first completely alternative fuel fleet, Milo said.

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