Steve McGarrett, your new hybrid awaits. Well not exactly, but the Honolulu police department has started a 6-month pilot program testing a half dozen Toyota Camry hybrids. The department is evaluating the gas-electric sedans to determine their suitability as patrol cars on the island of Oahu. According to Major Frank Fujii of the Honolulu police, the traditional Ford Crown Victorias get about 10-15 mph while the Camrys are expected to get about 33 mpg. Because the smaller Toyotas don't have the usual protective cages around the back seat, they will be used primarily for patrol and traffic enforcement. At a price of $28,000, the Camry is about $1,500 more than a Crown Vic but that should be made up in fuel savings. At the end of the 6-month pilot program, the department will determine whether to proceed with more hybrids or abandon the project.

[Source: KHON]

Police vehicles, city buses, garbage trucks and the like all use fuel at an alarming rate. When gas prices are as high as they are they begin to put a serious damper on city budgets. In fact, out of 132 mayors surveyed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, ninety percent of them indicate that their city budgets have been significantly impacted by fuel prices. Mayor Douglas Palmer of Trenton, New Jersey says that tough choices are necessary, "Everything is on the table except for a reduction in public safety."

While the easy answer would be to stop driving so much, that's not always possible. For instance, what would happen if a city were to decide to pick up trash only once every two weeks. Not only would tax-paying residents be upset, but a certain number of workers would likely lose their jobs. What's more, as more residents choose to use public transportation, more fuel might consumed by the bus lines as more vehicles are added to the schedule.

According to a news report from Reuters, Seattle already uses Segways for its parking officers and Prius hybrids for its city workers. The city is now considering hybrid police vehicles, according to Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels. We're not sure what vehicles are being considered, but we do know that GM offers police-specific versions of its Tahoe SUV. Could the hybrid drivetrain prove useful in this application? We're not certain, but it appears that the days of the standard-issue Crown Vic could be coming to an end.

[Source: Reuters via Yahoo]

San Sebastian's (Spain) City Hall has announced that the local police will replace four of their patrol cars with hybrid vehicles. The only requirement for the cars is to have at least 110HP available, regardless of acceleration (before you question how will they be able to catch the bad guys, the police also have powerful motorbikes).

It's yet to be decided which model, although only the Honda Civic and Toyota Prius are available in the Spanish market. The Council wants to continue an eco-friendly policy which has already pushed all buses in the city to run on biodiesel. The plans also include renewing the rest of the fleet with environment-friendly vehicles.

Similar plans have been announced by other Spanish institutions, like the Junta de Andalucíam where only hybrids are to be purchased from 2010, or Barcelona, where electrical vehicles are used for cleaning in the old city center.

[Source: San Sebastian City Hall via Econoticias]