At a meeting in Wheeling on Friday, West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said he would like to see all state vehicle stop using gasoline and use alternative energy sources like natural gas.


Tomblin held a round-table discussion with members of his Natural Gas Vehicle Task Force which he created in July. Friday's meeting at the Wheeling Area Chamber Of Commerce was the task force's second gathering.


The task force is made up of elected and non-elected officials from across West Virginia with the goal of giving the state's chief executive the best recommendations when it comes to running cars and trucks by natural gas.

Tomblin showed NEWS9 a school bus that runs off of propane, something he said is part of "taking advantage of West Virginia's resources."


"Well it is estimated right now. I can't give you the dollar amount, but it would cut price in half of what we are paying now with gasoline and diesel," Tomblin, a Democrat, said.


A representative with the Blue Bird Corp. -- which is known for making school buses -- said that running off of propane gets a school bus an extra six miles to the gallon.


"Really just the fuel injectors have been changed to turn it into a gasoline engine to a propane engine," said John Roselli of Blue Bird Corp. "There is no greenhouse gases, so it's environmentally friendly everywhere and I think that is where a lot of people are looking to get into it."


The governor said he's adamant about the program and wants to get more than just the state involved.


"Considering we are paying about $4 a gallon for either gasoline or diesel, we can get the same thing with natural gas for about $1.70 to $1.90 a gallon," Tomblin said. "If we could just start our 55 counties with just one fueling station to allow the state, city, county all to use them, I think that would encourage private businesses to converting their vehicles over."


The governor said the task force is getting organized and it will hold meeting across the Mountain State. When or if the state's fleet of vehicles will depend on natural gas is not known.