Public agencies choose gas-electric cars.

Byline: Scott Maben The Register-Guard

Gas-electric hybrid cars are creeping into public vehicle fleets as agencies explore new ways to save money.

The Toyota Prius is one of the more popular choices among local governments. Lane County has four of them, the city of Eugene has nine, the Lane Transit District has two, the city of Springfield's environmental services department has one and the Eugene Water & Electric Board has one.

"We bought them primarily to get some experience with alternative vehicles," said Phillip Guyette, the county's fleet manager. "I'm not sure where the industry will go, but I want to make sure we're ready for it when it comes."

EWEB owns a 2002 Prius, part of its pool of passenger vehicles for utility business, and it has a 1995 all-electric Ford Ranger pickup truck, used for a variety of tasks.

The Emerald People's Utility District has a 3-year-old Honda Insight that has averaged 58 miles per gallon since the utility purchased it.

The state Department of Human Services, which has a fleet of 3,600 vehicles, has 13 hybrids: 10 Priuses, two Honda Civics and an Insight. The agency anticipates buying at least 20 more Priuses for the coming year, fleet supervisor Rod Lohof said.

Federal, state and commercial vehicle fleet administrators are required under the Energy Policy Act to ensure that a certain percentage of their new vehicle purchases each year run on alternative fuel. Although hybrid electric cars produce low levels of emissions, they don't count as alternative fuels under the 1992 law because they still use gasoline rather than natural gas, propane or other less-polluting fuels.

An amendment to the energy bill currently stalled in the Senate would permit hybrids to help fleet managers meet the requirements of the federal mandate. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., sponsored the amendment.