Title of Effective Practice: - California Postsecondary Education ...

Direct Connection to Policy Area 6 of The Illinois Commitment
Reduction in Automotive Fuel Consumption
Northern Illinois University
What issue or need is addressed by the effective practice?
In 2002, the Division of Finance and Facilities initiated a project to reduce fuel consumption and costs by
introducing gas/electric hybrid vehicles into the university’s automotive fleet. The vehicles, which use a small
gasoline engine in conjunction with an electric motor, provide power while reducing emissions and keeping fuel
consumption to a minimum. This initiative supports the goals of lowering costs, becoming more
environmentally friendly, and reducing fuel consumption.
Description of the effective practice:
Of the 236 NIU vehicles, 20 percent of the sedan fleet and 30 percent of the motor pool vehicles are hybrids. In
2004, the NIU Division of Public Safety adopted a hybrid car for full service patrol use; it is believed to be the
first university police department in the nation to do so. Currently four of the five police cruisers are super-lowemissions
hybrid vehicles. The standard sedans in the university automotive pool currently average 25 to 28
mpg versus 44 to 48 mpg for the hybrid vehicles. The non-hybrid police cruisers get 8 to 10 mpg in normal use
versus 40 mpg for the hybrids.
This initiative received high accolades from members of the U.S. House Committee on Science at its 5 June
2006 meeting at the Naperville Municipal Center, where a sedan and a police cruiser were displayed. U.S.
Representatives Judy Biggert (R-Hinsdale), Dan Lipinski (D-Western Springs), and Michael Honda (D-
California), toured the vehicles and were impressed to hear that NIU was so successful in reducing its use of
gasoline. Particular interest was expressed in the use of hybrid vehicles by the police on campus.
Now in their second generation, hybrid vehicles are larger, and more powerful and fuel efficient than the firstgeneration
model. The NIU transportation motor pool currently uses first- and second-generation vehicles, and
all have received excellent reviews. No out-of-the-ordinary maintenance issues have been identified by the
inclusion of hybrid vehicles into the automotive fleet.
How does this practice achieve sustainability?
University sedans are kept for a minimum of 100,000 miles or ten years, and the savings in fuel costs will
exceed the additional costs to purchase the hybrid vehicles. All sedan purchases in FY07 will be hybrids and it is
planned that, in the future, 75 percent to 80 percent of the sedan fleet will be hybrids.
What are the results/measurable outcomes?
Through the first 11 months of FY06, the university’s hybrid sedans used approximately 3,580 fewer gallons of
gasoline compared to conventional sedans traveling the same number of miles. The cost savings for this time
period was $6,947 based on the contracted $1.94 per gallon the university pays for the bulk purchase of
gasoline. It is projected that the total cost savings for FY06 will be $7,579. Since the first two gas/electric hybrid
vehicles were purchased in 2002, the university’s hybrid sedans used approximately 12,200 fewer gallons of gas
for a cost savings of $23,703.
Contact Information
Name: Virginia R. Cassidy
Email: vcassidy@niu.edu
Phone: (815) 753-0492
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