Edison (NJ) buys 2 hybrid cars as it starts going green

Famous Inventor's birth Town (Edison) is going green by purchasing two Hybrid cars.

Those two hybrid vehicles that will be added to the municipal fleet in an effort to be more environmentally friendly. "Going green is good," Mayor Jun Choi said. "It's good for the environment. Going green makes sense financially, too."

The township council approved resolutions last month for the purchase of a Toyota Prius for $21,978 and a Ford Escape sport utility vehicle for $25,576, according to Choi's spokesman, Jerry Barca.

The township is receiving $4,000 per vehicle from the state Board of Public Utilities and $500 per vehicle from Middlesex County through incentive grants. The Prius will be funded mostly from a federal community block grant, Barca said. The Escape will be paid mostly with operating expenses of the township budget.

"This is a start in the right direction," council President Robert Diehl said. The vehicles will be used by administration staff for code inspections and the township community block grant office, according to Diehl and Barca. Choi said that the two cars are just the beginning. The township also plans to buy 10 additional hybrid vehicles to add to the municipal fleet. "We are committed to upgrading our cars with energy-efficient vehicles of which a significant number will be hybrids," he said.
T
he cars will save the township money on fuel and won't make a bigger dent on global warming, officials argued. The township has joined Woodbridge and Old Bridge as the municipalities in the county with the most environmentally friendly cars.

Woodbridge announced earlier this month it is planning to buy 12 hybrid cars, Ford Escapes. Township officials said they already have one existing hybrid that has saved them money on gas.
Old Bridge rolled out two Honda Civic hybrids earlier this year. They are being used by construction code officials. Hybrid cars such as Toyota Prius run on a mix of gasoline and electricity. They are praised for their ability to use less gas than conventional vehicles. Edison officials said they see the cars as the start of new initiatives to be more environmentally friendly.
Choi said Edison officials are in discussions with a variety of companies about adding solar panels and other alternative energy sources, though he declined to name them.
The township is also in the design and planning phase to build an environmental center next to the Dismal Swamp. Diehl raised the possibility that any building that the township constructs would have solar panels and other energy- and money-saving initiatives.
"It's a collective effort involved to tackle global warming," Diehl said. "We used to see it hidden in the back of the newspaper. Now we see it on the front page. It's a pretty hot topic. We need to take the lead on this."