Grabinski likes to tout Long Beach's pre-eminence in the field, and most experts agree with him. Now the city uses its own fueling station. Cerritos uses propane to power its fleet of seven city buses. Downey has one electric car for city officials, and three of the city's 17 buses run on natural gas. Lakewood also operates a propane-fueled work truck, as well as a van and a forklift that run on natural gas.
Industries make the biggest difference.
The Boeing Co., one of the region's largest employers, has only a small alternate-fuel fleet. In Long Beach, the company has two Ford pickups, a Toyota Camry and a Honda Accord that run on natural gas. Boeing's electric-vehicle use is limited to the kind of small service carts common to college campuses and amusement parks, says spokesman Larry Whitley. Southern California Edison, on the other hand, boasts the largest fleet of electric vehicles in the country. The company, whose largest city is Long Beach, is dedicated to electric cars for obvious reasons.