Natural Gas Vehicles (NGVs) are a great option for the commuter who is not able to take advantage of the other traditional clean commute choices. If you must take a personal vehicle, NGVs are the best choice to minimize smog-forming emissions. The Honda Civic GX is the cleanest production vehicle on the planet.

The Honda Civic GX is so clean in fact, that California gives partial "zero emissions" credits to Honda for every NGV sold; it is estimated that one Honda Civic GX is equivalent to taking over sixty vehicles off the road! Because of this, in Virginia, NGVs have unrestricted access to HOV-lanes.

The biggest question asked by people when discussing natural gas refueling is: where do I refuel? There are refueling sites in Hampton Roads, Richmond, and in Northern Virginia that are accessible to the public, most do require a special arrangement with the local gas utility. Additionally, a revolution is coming in natural gas refueling that will make it affordable and convenient to refuel your NGV at home! The "Phill" home refueler can be installed in your garage, and refuels your NGV overnight. Ideal for the commuter car in the family!

Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) are becoming more and more popular as this technology matures. The Honda Insight, Toyota Prius, and Honda Civic Hybrid, GM Silverado, and the Ford Escape are each great examples of technology that will lead us one day to fully electric vehicles deriving power from hydrogen-fueled fuel cells. Additional HEV models are being offered, and Toyota has announced a strategy to totally convert its light-duty vehicles to this powertrain within a decade. Although hybrids are also very low emissions vehicles, owners should take care to refuel with very low sulfur fuel in order to ensure that its emissions remain low. Today, in Northern Virginia, Richmond, and Hampton Roads, only BP-Amoco's super unleaded fuel has the low sulfur content that keeps these vehicles running clean on your daily commute. Hybrids such as the Prius that minimize operation of the internal combustion engine in city driving are also excellent for cutting pollution that leads to high ozone and smog.

All of these vehicles are eligible for federal and state tax incentives.

For more information on alternative fueled commuting options, please visit the Virginia Clean Cities website at www.hrccc.org.