A propane-powered limo? Now you can get to the prom and save at the pump. (image: Southeast Propane Autogas Development Program)
The Southeast Propane Autogas Development Program, a Virginia-based partnership that aims to put more propane-powered vehicles on the region’s roads, has launched a website to guide fleet managers who may be considering the fuel.
The site, usepropaneautogas.com, aims to highlight the use of autogas and serve as a resource for people seeking information about vehicles and fueling, Chelsea Jenkins, the program’s director, says in a prepared statement. The program plans to convert about 1,200 gasoline vehicles to run on propane autogas, and establish at least 17 autogas stations along major traffic routes around the Southeast, according to the program website. These steps should eliminate an estimated 15.7 million gallons of gasoline and 16,000 tons of emissions over the four years the project has been funded for. The potential savings are another incentive.
According to one autogas source, a gallon of propane for your gas tank costs $1.69 less than a gallon of gasoline on average. “With gasoline prices on a steady rise, there has never been a better time for fleets to learn the bottom-line benefits of clean fuel alternatives like autogas,” Jenkins says. “We encourage private businesses and government organizations with vehicle fleets to explore the new site and find out what autogas can do for their fleets.”
The initiative also dovetails with the President’s recent call for people in the transportation sector “to replace your old fleet with a clean energy fleet.” According to the White House, the country’s commercial fleet vehicles consumed close to 4 billion gallons of fuel in 2009.