OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – It’s a change the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office is calling a win-win.
Moving to propane-fueled squad cars.
On the outside, some Winnebago County squad cars look like a typical squad car. But on the inside, they’re quite different.
These vehicles run on on propane, instead of gasoline.
Captain Lara Vendola-Messer with the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office tells WLUK the switch to propane fuel was a no-brainer.
“It’s a two-fold goal, to save money, taxpayer money… and also to be better on the environment. How can you go wrong- we’re doing both”
She says for the deputies driving the propane cars, all they need to do is fill up from a large propane unit at the department, and go about their shifts as normal.
“They are bi-fuel so they run on gasoline as well so if they run out of propane in the middle of nowhere, it just kicks over to gasoline”
The company that sells the propane is based out of Illinois… But J&R Auto Service in Oshkosh is reaping economic benefits locally. They’re the technicians installing and fixing the tanks in the cars.
Brad Cook is the manager at J&R Auto Service
“It’s newer technology stuff, its stuff that things will probably might go too, and we’ll have a leg up on it.”
So far, the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office has propane tanks in 15 of its cars, and it plans on expanding that to as many of its cars as possible.
“We’re starting slow, we’re starting with the brand new cars that we just got that just went online this month”
But once everything’s complete… Vendola-Messer says the department’s hoping to set the trend for other agencies.
“We’ve had a few inquiries from local departments that are interested to see how it works out here”
The department says the reduction in mileage propane compared to gasoline is about 5%. So it believes, given current prices of both, propane is the cheaper option.