The number of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Vehicles in use in Santa Barbara. Vehicles include street sweepers, pick up trucks, school buses, public buses, mail delivery trucks, and other public vehicles.

Compressed Natural Gas is the cleanest of all fuels and costs 25 to 35 percent less than gasoline. Additionally, Natural Gas vehicles can go three to five times longer between oil changes and tune-ups, thus reducing maintenance costs. As the cleanest burning alternative fuel, CNG vehicle emissions are dramatically lower than that of gasoline vehicles. This is especially significant when considering the size of the automobile and its purposes (for example, driving you car to and from work versus a bus running all day long).

Based on these findings, it appears that the use of CNG vehicles is on the rise in Santa Barbara. In fact, in 2000 the city has just traded 39 of its normal mail trucks to another city for 39 CNG trucks. Not only do the number of vehicles over the past seven years indicate a rise in CNG use, but Santa Barbara has found the new vehicles to be a success. More and more vehicles should be added through the next few years.