Tulsa, OK -
Paying a $1.50 a gallon at the pump sounds like a dream, but it's a reality for anyone driving a car fueled by compressed natural gas or CNG.
The city of Tulsa celebrated the latest public station that's now open in west Tulsa. Brent Jones works for the city and he's a CNG convert. He says it's helped him save a lot of money. "Instead of paying $30 to $70 a tank full to fill up. I usually fill up for $7 to $20," Jones told Tulsa's Channel 8. Jones says he has a Honda that's dedicated to CNG and a truck that's fueled with it too.
It's also his job to oversee the city's CNG fleet conversion. City buses are one of the vehicles driving the CNG movement. However, conversion is costly. It can be anywhere from $9,000-$13,000. Converts say it's worth every penny.
Convenience is another concern. The city's counting on new CNG fueling station to solve that problem. It's at 23rd and Jackson and open to everyone. "There's a gasoline station or diesel station on most every intersection in this city, but there's very few compressed national gas fueling stations, where there were five I think this will be the 9th or 10th one
The city says it's also more environmentally friendly and ultimately puts more Tulsans to work. Everything at the CNG station was made in Tulsa. "They're all here. All the cooling, the compressor companies are here, the control companies are here, so really Tulsa is the center of compressed natural gas," said Tom Sewell of Tulsa Gas Technology, the company that built the station. If you driving a CNG car, he says you're saving a buck and possibly helping your neighbor make one.
