Washtenaw County is committed to purchasing and maintaining alternative fuel vehicles in its fleet as a member of the Ann Arbor Area Clean Cities Program. In our Guiding Principles, we endeavor to be a leader in intragovernmental, intergovernmental and intersectoral cooperation and collaboration aimed at improving services to County citizens. By using alternative fuel vehicles, we are not only looking into reducing the cost of conducting the County's business, but also trying to focus on some of the root causes of problems that affect the quality of life of County citizens, such as air pollution and the factors that contribute to global climate change. By using alternative fuel vehicles, we are attempting to pursue local prevention strategies for some of these issues.
Washtenaw County has one Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) E350 van which is used by the Facilities Department in the warehouse, three CNG E250 vans used by Facilities Management workers, and one CNG F150 pickup for Facilities Management Fleet Services.
Currently on order are three F150 CNG pickups for Facilities Management, two F150 pickups for the Environmental Services Division of Environment and Infrastructure Services and two E350 CNG vans for the Washtenaw County Department of Mental Health’s transportation needs.
At this time the vehicles are fueled using the slow fill station at Facilities Management. In the future we will also be using the fueling stations available at the Meijers on Ann Arbor Saline Road and Carpenter Road.
Our drivers seem to like them, they run well, and there seems to be no obvious difference in performance from the gasoline vehicles in the fleet. Next year, Washtenaw County is planning to purchase seven more CNG vehicles for its fleet.
On April 19, 1999, Washtenaw County participated in the Ann Arbor Area Clean Cities Designation Ceremony. This was the official event designating the local coalition as a member of the US Department of Energy Clean Cities program. Over 20 alternative vehicles were on display at the University of Michigan North Campus Diag. Members of the Ann Arbor Area Clean Cities Coalition include:
Michigan Consolidated Gas Company (now a subsidiary of DTE Energy)
For more information on the Ann Arbor Area Clean Cities Coalition, please contact Dave Konkle, the Municipal Energy Coordinator for the City of Ann Arbor, at (734) 996-3150.