As a resident of Washington, D.C., I have the privilege of griping about the state of our nation’s capital. However, I have recently noticed several D.C. government vehicles that are fueled using natural gas, and I have to say – I think they’re pretty cool.

My colleagues on Pike’s Smart Transportation team have done research on natural gas vehicles, but it wasn’t until my colleague Lisa Jerram began researching her latest report on total cost of ownership for fleets – including natural gas vehicles – that I appreciated why a city would consider alternative fuel vehicles. Then, I started noticing government natural gas vehicles all over the city.

Since existing natural gas infrastructure is limited, and many natural gas vehicle fleet operators choose to install compressed natural gas infrastructure onsite, the low fueling costs typically make up for the high capital expenditure. According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Clean Cities group, October 2011 prices for compressed natural gas were $2.09 per gasoline gallon equivalent (gge). Compare those prices to gasoline ($3.46) or diesel ($3.42) and it’s easy to see why cities that are concerned about air quality and operating budgets might take the long view and decide to build fleets around natural gas.

Considering that the United States will likely have a surplus of natural gas for the next 20 years – and the fact that the country is unlikely to be able to export the entirety of that surplus since natural gas export infrastructure has not been upgraded in recent years – natural gas prices will either stay steady or decrease over time. What’s more important in this case is the price of natural gas compared to alternatives such as diesel and gasoline. As the DOE October 2011 prices indicate, the differences between the fuels is large enough and will likely remain consistent enough to make natural gas fleets appealing.