Alternative Fuel Vehicle
Lane adds alternative fuel vehicle to motorpool fleet saving money and reducing environmental impact.
In April 2004, Lane added a Toyota Prius to it's fleet of motorpool vehicles. The Prius is a gas-electric hybrid vehicle that uses 51 miles per gallon (mpg) on the highway and 60-mpg in the city. Other similar-sized motorpool vehicles use 26-mpg on the highway and 19-mpg in the city. Because of the fuel efficiency of the hybrid vehicle, Lane will save an estimated 566 gallons of gasoline and $1,035 per year. Alternative fuel vehicles cost somewhat more than conventional vehicles up front but an energy incentive tax credit and the savings on fuel costs make up for the additional upfront costs in about 4 months! The table below shows cost calculations.
| Environmental and Financial Benefits of Driving a Hybrid Vehicle vs. a Conventional Vehicle | |
| Cost of hybrid vehicle (Toyota Prius purchased by Lane in April 2004) | $26,239 |
| Energy incentive for purchase of alternative fuel vehicle (Business Energy Tax Credit with Pass-through Partner, U.S. Bank) | -$4,002 |
| Energy incentive application fee | $118.83 |
| Cost of hybrid vehicle after energy incentive | $22,356 |
| Average cost of gasoline per gallon in Oregon on 3/22/04 | $1.83 |
| Estimated miles traveled per year (see table below for calculation of estimated miles) | 30,000 |
| Prius highway miles per gallon | 51 |
| Annual gallons of gasoline used by Prius | 588 |
| Annual fuel costs for Prius | $1,076 |
| Cost of conventional vehicle - 2004 Mercury Sable, 4dr Sedan GS (cost estimate is from www.cars.com.) | $22,025 |
| Sable highway miles per gallon | 26 |
| Annual gallons of gasoline used by Sable | 1154 |
| Annual fuel costs for Sable | $2,112 |
| Annual gallons of gasoline saved by driving Prius | 566 |
| Annual amount of money saved by driving Prius | $1,035 |
| Months it takes to save the amount of additional cost of Prius over Sable by driving the more fuel efficient vehicle | 4 |
| Estimated miles per year | |
| average number of rides per day | 1 |
| average miles per ride | 100 |
| approximate days of service per year | 300 |
| total vehicle miles per year | 30,000 |