E.L. officials hope to integrate hybird car fleet

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East Lansing officials are planning to start integrating hybrid vehicles into the city’s car fleet in an attempt to further follow through on plans to reduce the city’s carbon footprint.

Officials are seeking to begin a green shift they hope will snowball in coming years, beginning with exploring the possibility of purchasing three hybrid vehicles this year to take over for vehicles that are up for replacement, Public Service Administrator Angela Mabin said.

The efforts follow a vehicle cost comparison submitted to the East Lansing City Council at the end of June, which measured the total cost of purchasing and operating hybrid vehicles compared to traditional gas-powered vehicles. The comparison showed the costs of purchasing and fueling hybrid vehicles would be significantly more than solely gas vehicles — often by several thousand dollars, depending on the specific model — even taking into account the greater fuel efficiency of hybrid cars.

Still, the council reached the consensus that it wanted to pursue the hybrid initiative in incremental stages as funding became available.

“Trying to balance out that desire with budget necessities is a difficult thing to do,” Councilmember Kevin Beard said. “We’re going to focus on the light cars, the light trucks, the ones that do light duty around the city.”

Beard said most East Lansing Police Department cars will not be replaced, except for some parking enforcement vehicles, as most police vehicles must have a faster acceleration rate and the room to accommodate more equipment.

East Lansing Environmental Specialist Dave Smith said purchasing smaller hybrid vehicles is more advantageous, as they have a longer life than larger vehicles such as garbage trucks.

East Lansing has undertaken other environmentally-friendly vehicle initiatives in the past, none of which have lasted long-term.

In the late ‘90s, the city had a truck powered on compressed natural gas. Near that same time, the city received a grant for biodiesel — through which they used 250,000 gallons of before the grant money ran out, Smith said.

“I’m not ashamed or in any way embarrassed we tried technologies that didn’t work,” City Manager Ted Staton said. “When we find technologies that work, we’re going to integrate them widely.”

The hybrid shift coincides with East Lansing’s broader climate sustainability plan, which aims to lower the city’s waste and emissions.

Also in June, the council reviewed the possibility of expanding city recycling programs and installing more efficient lighting in public buildings.

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