Fuel-cell powered vehicles increase city’s already green profile
(subhed)
By Kevin Herrera
Daily Press Staff Writer
DOWNTOWN — The city has added some mean green machines to its fleet of maintenance vehicles, filling the air with “oohs” and “aahs” instead of emissions.
In addition to purchasing four electric “mini Hummers” for the Third Street Promenade maintenance staff, City Hall has also received a compact car from Honda that produces zero emissions by using hydrogen and fuel cell technology; its only byproduct is water.
The light blue Honda FCX is a prototype that Honda has lent City Hall as part of a demonstration project with the car company, the city and the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD). City staff will drive the experimental ride around town to collect data on how the vehicle handles, as well as increasing use of the city’s new hydrogen station at the City Yards.
The station is one of just 26 in the entire state and was built with money from the AQMD as part of the agency’s Five City Project, which included converting the internal combustion engines of City Hall’s five Toyota Priuses to run on hydrogen gas, said Rick Sikes, who oversees the city’s fleet of vehicles.
4DB,“Honda really wanted to get this out on the streets to see how it works,” Sikes said. “The one issue we’ve found with it is the car is so quiet. Drivers really have to be careful sneaking up on people.”
Larry Sacco of the Risk Management Division has been driving the Honda around town and to Palm Dessert. It’s proven to be a whirlwind love affair with the car of the future.
“It feels and sounds just like a ‘Star Wars’ hovercraft without the hover,” Sacco said. “It’s a great ride … I hope we can keep it.”
The demonstration project is expected to end in February. The cost of the Honda wasn’t released, however, Sikes said the car company leases the prototypes to a handful of private individuals, including actress Q’orianka Kilcher (“The New World”) for roughly $500 a month. The fuel cell cars are not available for purchase on the open market.
The vehicles are the latest additions to Santa Monica’s eco-friendly fleet — one of the greenest collections of vehicles of any municipality, with 81 percent of the 524 vehicles running on alternative fuels, including natural gas, biodiesel, electric, propane and hydrogen. The fleet includes compact cars like the Honda and Priuses, as well as garbage trucks and street-cleaning machines.
6BC, While the Honda received most of the attention from passersby Tuesday, when city staff parked the vehicles on the Third Street Promenade for the media, the “mini Hummers,” which cost around $25,000 each, will surely log the most miles as they will be called on to operate two times a day, seven days a week.
The “mini Hummers,” which are made by e-ride Industries in Palmdale, will eventually replace older electric vehicles currently used by maintenance staff to haul garbage out of the parking structures or carry cleaning supplies. The vehicles are definitely a step up, offering staff more torque, more range and a more comfortable ride as they are equipped with doors, windows and cushy pleather seats.
“When I ride (in the older vehicles), I feel like I’m Danny DeVito in ‘Taxi,’” said Eddie Greenberg, promenade maintenance supervisor. “Now I feel like Donald Trump.”
In addition to style, the electric utility vehicles have tilt steering, more towing capacity, a bigger bed, and holds a charge much longer than older electric vehicles.
“Going up the structures with a full load can take a lot of juice, but with these guys, it’s so easy,” said Jay Aguilar, an equipment operator. “It’s got good pickup and it’s roomy.”
Those interested in checking out the maintenance vehicles and the Honda FCX will have their chance later this month at the Alternative Car Expo at Barker Hanger. The second annual expo will be held on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 19-20. The event is free and will feature 100 exhibitors of alternative fuels, mass transit, cycling and urban planning.
“It feels and sounds just like a ‘Star Wars’ hover craft without the hover.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 3, 2007. Read the original PDF.