Champaign on road to utilizing natural gas for fleet

CHAMPAIGN – Those commercials with Texas billionaire T. Boone Pickens touting compressed natural gas as a cheaper, cleaner alternative fuel for vehicles? Count city of Champaign officials among those who are interested.

The city council last week signed off enthusiastically on a "fleet sustainability pilot program" that will have the city buying a Honda Civic GX this fiscal year for the public works department. The car will operate on compressed natural gas. A public works pickup truck will also be retrofitted to run on compressed natural gas.

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