AT&T Announces Deployment of 2,000th Alternative Fuel Vehicle

Communications holding company AT&T announced the rollout of the 2,000^th alternative fuel vehicle and 1,500^th compresses natural gas vehicle in its corporate vehicle fleet.

AT&T (News - Alert) has claimed that over the next five years it will be looking to buy more than 8,000 CNG vehicles at an anticipated cost of $350 million. By 2018 the carrier will have replaced its 7,100 fleet passenger cars with alternative fuel models at an additional cost of $215 million.

Officials with AT&T fleet operations have commented that the deployment of their 2,000th alternative fuel vehicle is a significant milestone in an ongoing effort to reduce their dependence on foreign oil. To continue making progress, they are working with their suppliers and local municipalities to encourage the expansion of support infrastructure, which would allow the introduction of more fuel efficient vehicles in communities around the United States.

AT&T Fleet Operations has already said its top priority is to reduce their fleet’s petroleum fuel consumption and operating costs. Even the smallest improvement in fuel use, when applied across the entire corporate fleet, can make a significant impact for the environment and for their business. That's why the company is “committed to identifying smart ways to improve the efficiency of their fleet and to exploring advancement with alternative-fuel technologies.”

According to the Center for Automotive Research (CAR), AT&T's alternative fuel vehicle initiative will: save 49 million gallons of gasoline over the 10-year deployment period; and reduce carbon emissions by 211,000 metric tons – the greenhouse gas equivalent of removing 147,929 passenger vehicles from the road for one year.

Back in March 2009, AT&T announced its $565 million grand plan to replace 15,000 of its 75,900 fleet vehicles with alternative fuel models by 2018. Now the company has its 2,000th alternative fuel vehicle and 1,500th compressed natural gas vehicle and already has claimed that they are one of the largest CNG-powered fleets in the U.S., and future plans call for the addition of 8,000 more within the next five years.