The vehicles are used throughout New York for various tasks such as construction inspection and administrative activities.
"All the vehicle operators have been very happy with the performance of the Civic GX," said Joe Darling, director of the Equipment Management Division of the New York State Department of Transportation. "What we are doing is building additional infrastructure so natural gas is available everywhere and we can drive these clean and efficient vehicles throughout the state."
Currently the New York State DOT is using commercially owned compressed natural gas (CNG) refueling stations, but it recently purchased 30 of their own 3,600 psi FuelMaker systems to setup in areas that do not have natural gas refueling stations. These stations will not only increase the number of areas the GX can travel to, but the higher pressure also increases the vehicle range.
"We are developing these 'clean corridors' using CNG because we see it as the cleanest and most cost-effective alternative fuel, and one that will survive long into the future," said Darling. "Compressed natural gas is at least 30 cents a gallon less expensive than gasoline, which provides a substantial operating savings for our fleet."
The original fleet of 50 Civic GX vehicles was purchased last year. The GX is powered by the cleanest internal combustion engine in the world and is now certified with the California Air Resources Board to the Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle standard.