NATURAL GAS FOR CARS AND TRUCKS: OPTIONS AND CHALLENGES - Natural Gas-powered Cars and Trucks: Options and Issues - page 19

Clean Cities Program
This DOE program seeks to reduce petroleum use in transportation, with
100 Clean Cities coalitions around the country that focus on use of alternative
fuels, fuel economy improvements, and new transportation technologies.
Clean Cities provides technical and financial assistance to communities. Clean
Cities grants have expanded the use of natural gas vehicles with school and
transit buses, airport vehicles, taxis, and delivery fleets. To further the use of
natural gas vehicles, Clean Cities has financially supported the expansion of
public-access refueling infrastructure. 96
State Programs
State policies with regard to natural gas vehicles are extensive. Laws and
regulations governing sale and use of natural gas vehicles differ from state to
state. Natural gas motor fuel is taxed in different ways, and there is no uniform
method of taxing CNG and LNG. Some states tax CNG based on a GGE or
DGE basis; others tax fuels using other methods. A few states tax LNG based
on its energy content.
Some states have incentives for purchase or conversion of a vehicle, 97
including tax deductions or credits and lower license fees, vehicle sale taxes,
and registration fees. Some states (such as California and Arizona) permit
some types of alternative fuel vehicles to drive in high-occupancy vehicle
lanes during rush hour.
The interest of states in expanding the natural gas refueling networks
within their borders also differs. Local codes, standards, and permitting
processes dictate how CNG stations are to be built. A few states have
designated some highways as corridors for building out natural gas service
station networks. The South Coast Air Quality Management District and UPS,
the package shipping company, are building a natural gas corridor from Las
Vegas, NV, to Ontario, CA, with stations that will sell fuel to UPS heavy-duty
vehicles as well as to the public. 98 In Utah, Interstate 15 from Idaho to Arizona
has been designated as a natural gas vehicle corridor, as has the Texas Clean
Transportation Triangle, which connects Houston, San Antonio, and
Dallas/Fort Worth. 99 Thirteen governors have initiated a multistate agreement to
expand the production of natural gas vehicles, committing to ―aggregate our
annual state fleet vehicle procurements to provide an incentive to manufacture
affordable, functional natural gas vehicles.‖ 100