New York City is testing hybrid garbage trucks

By Money Matters Editors

Sometimes the answers to difficult, complex problems stem from the least likely of places. Are economies of scale – basically the lowering of the per unit cost of a good through mass production - starting to make themselves felt in the hybrid vehicle sector?

Well, that may very well be the case, if the hybrid truck trend gains momentum, as expected. Right now, the City of New York is testing a series of hybrid garbage trucks – those big, diesel-spewing trucks that haul away garbage, lots of garbage  – with the hope of lowering long-term fuel and maintenance costs, The New York Times reported.

Four hybrid-truck technologies are being tested. One type of hybrid truck the city is testing, the Mack hybrid, costs $500,000 each, or more than double the $225,000 cost of a conventional diesel garbage truck, but government grants currently cover the difference, The Times reported. Experts note that the cost of hybrid trucks would likely drop with mass purchases, and New York City would qualify as a mass purchaser: it has more than 2,000 garbage trucks. The hybrid truck needs to be refueled about once every 10 days. The conventional diesel truck? Twice a week.

Other hybrid trucks, such as diesel-hydraulic hybrids, and natural gas-hydraulic hybrids, are also being tested by various companies around the United States. If the technology and/or a refined technology can be deployed to other types of trucks, such as mid-sized trucks and long-range 18-wheelers, it’s easy to see how the technology could substantially reduce diesel consumption.

Further, New York City is a suitable testing track: it features some of the worst traffic and varying road conditions in the nation. It also is subject to four seasons of weather, all of which means that if there is weakness or flaw in each hybrid-truck’s design, New York’s roads and traffic will uncover it. Even so, subsequent truck improvements could speed the day that hybrid-vehicle technology becomes the norm on U.S. roads and highways, reducing the nation’s huge fossil fuel bill.