BISBEE, AZ – Cochise County employee transportation is now using a white compact Toyota Prius Hybrid, according to www.douglasdispatch.com.

The County purchased the hybrid to add to the pool of fleet vehicles employees could reserve for out of town trips. The Prius will not be used for regular trips on dirt roads or roads requiring stronger suspensions and four-wheel drive.

The use of the hybrid will supplement the overall decrease the County fleet is already experiencing with regards to fuel usage (about two percent or $20,195 over the past year). But the bigger savings has still been proven by the County’s forethought in switching to smaller sedans for everyday use years ago.

The purchase of the hybrid is part of an all-inclusive county fuel savings plan, which includes switching out pickup trucks for sedans for personnel who accumulate more mileage and don’t need a pickup truck to perform their duties, downsizing full-size trucks to smaller trucks where appropriate, training employees in defensive driving, and encouraging personal and business-related carpooling options.