FREMONT, CA – Fremont Bank drivers log between 2,500 and 3,000 miles per month as they pick up and deliver documents between the bank and its customers using bank-owned vehicles. But since December, each of the bank’s six couriers have been driving a Toyota Prius hybrid car. Hybrids are said to emit 80-percent less carbon dioxide than standard internal combustion vehicles. The move accelerates the bank’s overall program of “clean business” practices by lowering the environmental impact on communities where it operates, according to Kevi Grier, director of Central Operations and Logistics Services for Fremont Bank. Each Prius gets more than 45 miles per gallon in highway driving and more than 50 miles per gallon in city driving, versus about 30 miles per gallon for highway driving and 26 miles per gallon for city driving for the previous fleet. According to Raymond Mallonee, procurement manager for Fremont Bank, the bank is already experiencing a savings of nearly $1,000 per month in gasoline. He adds that the bank was also able to secure federal tax credits for each vehicle and got a volume discount for purchasing multiple vehicles. Another benefit of the vehicles is that they are safer. “Each car is equipped with both front and side airbags,” Mallonee said. “The drivers like them better because of the added safety features.”