SAN FRANCISCO (Map, News) - Despite numerous efforts to green San Francisco’s vehicle fleet — which this year is expected to guzzle more than $20 million in fuel — less than 30 percent used by city departments are running on alternative fuels, according to City Administrator’s Office data.

The City’s various cars, trucks, SUVs and other vehicles used by city employees total 4,669, including Muni buses and trains, according to the data.

The list includes, but is not limited to, police and Sheriff’s Department cars and vans; Recreation and Park Department pickup trucks; and cars and SUVs operated by Parking and Traffic, Public Utilities and the offices of the mayor, district attorney, public defender and city attorney.

More than 70 percent are listed as unleaded-gasoline guzzlers, while the remainder are alternative-fuel vehicles. The fleet is responsible for 1 percent of The City’s carbon emissions, or about 80,000 tons, according to officials.

Since becoming mayor, Gavin Newsom has emphasized greening The City’s fleet. In September 2005, he issued an executive directive establishing requirements for city fleets to purchase vehicles using alternative fuels.

Departments, however, continue to purchase unleaded-fuel vehicles. The Recreation and Park Department has 13 model year 2008 pickup trucks using unleaded, according to The City’s car list.

While San Francisco bars departments from purchasing unleaded-fuel cars, exemptions are permitted “when no alternative-fueled vehicle is available that meets specification,” according to Mark Westlund, of the Department of the Environment.

One “common reason” an exemption is granted, Westlund said, is when “a vehicle may have to travel long distances, for instance to a remote Public Utilities Commission watersheds, and there may not be a reliable alternative fueling options available.”

However, all taxicabs in San Francisco are required to run on alternative fuels by 2011 — a city mandate passed by the Board of Supervisors, and supported by Newsom.

The City has too many cars, especially passenger cars, said Tom Radulovich, executive director of the nonprofit Livable City, which promotes public transit and other eco-friendly forms of transportation.

Radulovich said The City should contract with a car-share company. Keeping the cars on hand, he said, only serves as an “incentive” for people to use them.

In 2006, a list of the top 10 city fleets running on alternative fuels did not include San Francisco. The study, conducted by Internet company Sustainlane, found that 15 percent of San Francisco’s fleet was running on alternative fuel, whereas the top cities had 25 percent to 63 percent of their fleets as green vehicles.

San Francisco could feasibly make its entire fleet alternative-fuel-based within three to five years, said Warren Karlenzig, who helped conduct the ranking study. Westlund, however, said a 100 percent green fleet is not within reach at this point.

“It is not possible at this time to have an entirely alternative-fuel fleet because neither the vehicle types nor the fueling infrastructure currently exist,” he said.

Westlund praised the efforts of The City’s fleet going green, calling the numbers of alternative-fuel vehicles a “significant increase” since 2004.

San Francisco has made strides in greening its taxpayer-paid fleet since 2003, when only 11 percent of its fleet — including Muni passenger carriers — was alternative fuel.

The cars used by city employees guzzle about $20 million worth of fuel annually — a financial figure that is expected to increase due to the surge in fuel costs.

The number of cars used by city departments is 6,884, which includes Muni buses and trains, according to Mark Westlund of the Department of the Environment.

In fiscal year 2005-06, The City spent $19.9 million in fuel costs — which increased to $20.6 million last fiscal year, according to the Controller's Office. Of last year’s total, $14.9 million was spent on approximately 6 million gallons of diesel fuel, and $5.7 million was spent on 2.4 million gallons for unleaded gasoline, according to Westlund.

Rising fuel costs are expected to continue to pressure cash-strapped department budgets, said Deputy City Controller Monique Zmuda, who said there’s a significant “concern for next fiscal year, as the [fuel cost] increases are so dramatic.”

Of The City’s non-Muni fleet, more than 70 percent runs on unleaded gasoline. Since Muni has a fleet that includes hybrid buses, buses that run on bio-diesel fuel, and electric trolley buses, it boosts San Francisco’s overall alternative-fuel fleet percentage to 35, Westlund said.

City’s gas tab is more than $20M per year

The cars used by city employees guzzle about $20 million worth of fuel annually — a financial figure that is expected to increase due to the surge in fuel costs.

The number of cars used by city departments is 6,884, which includes Muni buses and trains, according to Mark Westlund of the Department of the Environment.

In fiscal year 2005-06, The City spent $19.9 million in fuel costs — which increased to $20.6 million last fiscal year, according to the Controller's Office. Of last year’s total, $14.9 million was spent on approximately 6 million gallons of diesel fuel, and $5.7 million was spent on 2.4 million gallons for unleaded gasoline, according to Westlund.

Rising fuel costs are expected to continue to pressure cash-strapped department budgets, said Deputy City Controller Monique Zmuda, who said there’s a significant “concern for next fiscal year, as the [fuel cost] increases are so dramatic.”

Of The City’s non-Muni fleet, more than 70 percent runs on unleaded gasoline. Since Muni has a fleet that includes hybrid buses, buses that run on bio-diesel fuel, and electric trolley buses, it boosts San Francisco’s overall alternative-fuel fleet percentage to 35, Westlund said.

jsabatini@examiner.com

Comments from Examiner Readers

9:56 PM MST on Mon., Apr. 28, 2008 re: "Greenbelt can continue preservation"

Examiner Reader said:
I guess when the salmon count is so low that wildlife agencies have to place a mandatory ban on fishing to replenish their numbers, and when the whales are about 10-15% thinner, it's a sign that the oceans are stressed out. Kudos to the state Supreme Court for protecting the ocean and giving our coasts protective areas to restore ecosystems and rejuvenate her marine life.

Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree

4:23 PM MST on Wed., Apr. 23, 2008 re: "Dark skies for solar-training plan"

Examiner Reader said:
Policy issues related to the solar program need to be vetted before money is spent, McGoldrick told The Examiner in an e-mail. The supervisor characterized Solar City�s threat to abandon The City as �greenmail.� Oh man...can someone please get goldbricker McGoldrick to get a real life, hopefully one not in public service! Geeze if this guy ran the world we would be forever spitting in the wind.

2 agree | 1 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree

Report as inappropriate

4:02 PM MST on Wed., Apr. 16, 2008 re: "Toss your plastics into recycling bins"

Examiner Reader said:
Next step: Wire Hangers!!! (Dry cleaners don't seem to want them back).

3 agree | 3 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree

Report as inappropriate

12:41 PM MST on Mon., Apr. 14, 2008 re: "Toss your plastics into recycling bins"

Examiner Reader said:
I throw everything I can into the recycling bin and let them decide.

6 agree | 4 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree

Report as inappropriate

10:23 AM MST on Thu., Apr. 3, 2008 re: "Maryland�s coastal grass continues to vanish"

Examiner Reader said:
i think the bicycle built for water is a dum story

7 agree | 7 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree

Report as inappropriate

6:36 AM MST on Mon., Mar. 31, 2008 re: "It's a bicycle built for pure water, too"

Examiner Reader said:
how much will the bike cost?

6 agree | 6 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree

Report as inappropriate

4:48 PM MST on Sat., Mar. 29, 2008 re: "The City gets dark tonight"

Examiner Reader said:
Good. Can't wait for the criminals to do a number on the City!

7 agree | 7 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree

Report as inappropriate

5:39 AM MST on Wed., Jan. 9, 2008 re: "Gore preaches to global warming choir"

Examiner Reader said:
there are no heading on what each paragraph is about

114 agree | 147 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree

Report as inappropriate

4:45 PM MST on Thu., Dec. 20, 2007 re: "S.F. green groups to receive more than $2M"

Bob said:
What concerns me isn't so much all this green stuff; (and green is just a buzz word for Corporate America to make big bucks)what is being done to animal species being wiped off the face of the earth? Polar bear, Rhinos (being slaughered for their horns); elephants, snow tigers, and the list goes on and on;

178 agree | 134 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree

Report as inappropriate

3:43 PM MST on Thu., Dec. 20, 2007 re: "S.F. green groups to receive more than $2M"

Examiner Reader said:
all this green is a bunch of crap....i still burn wood, drive my car alone to work (better than some smelly bus or bart) do not recycle..thats what i pay those garbagemen for. i would rather use my firplace and wood than pay Pacific Grred and Extortion zny of their rip bills.

183 agree | 145 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree

Report as inappropriate

9:21 PM MST on Wed., Nov. 28, 2007 re: "Audubon study sees local birds particularly threatened"

Another Examiner Reader said:
Sure nuclear power is "clean." Just ask the Chernobylites.

130 agree | 189 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree

Report as inappropriate

1:56 PM MST on Thu., May. 24, 2007 re: "Experts: Light pollution growing environmental problem"

Examiner Reader said:
Thank you for this article. However it needs more development, especially in the area of light trespass onto down hill property. Full cut off on level ground is not full cut off on slopes. Also, motion detectors often activate when a person walks on his own property and is detected by the neighbor's poorly designed/installed system. Please consider this in the future.

594 agree | 366 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree

Report as inappropriate

11:36 AM MST on Mon., May. 14, 2007 re: "Gore preaches to global warming choir"

Examiner Reader said:
Al Gore should provide more support for nuclear power. When you come to the realization that we have to STOP using fossil fuels, there is nothing else that can produce the huge amount of power that would be required to replace fossil fuels. Nuclear already provides 20% of our electric power. Nuclear power is as cheap or maybe cheaper than coal, especially when you compare 'clean coal' vs. nuclear. It is time we started replacing all of our coal fired power plants with nuclear.

586 agree | 370 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree

Report as inappropriate

7:27 AM MST on Wed., May. 9, 2007 re: "Environmental advisers request study of county�s waste stream"

Sandy Wisner said:
Dear Kelsey, If you take 15% of one portion of a thing and 17% of another portion of the same thing, you will not get 32% of the whole. Depending on the size of the portions, you will have between 15 and 17 percent of the whole.

553 agree | 392 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree

Report as inappropriate