Verizon will soon begin a pilot project using 13 hybrid service vans. The vans will serve some of Verizon’s FiOS Internet and TV customers in parts of the D.C. metro area and Texas. 

The vans’ gasoline- and electricity-powered engines could improve gas mileage by up to 50 percent over traditional internal-combustion engines, and have the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent to 90 percent, according to Verizon. 

The retrofitting for the trial was done by Enova Systems.

“These retrofitted FiOS vans will allow us to evaluate hybrid technology,” said Kathryn Brown, senior vice president of public policy development and corporate responsibility for Verizon. “More importantly, as an operator of one of the largest private motor vehicle fleets in the U.S., we hope to send a message to automotive manufacturers that they should be manufacturing hybrid vehicles in all classes. There is a market here, especially for companies like Verizon that seek to minimize the environmental impact of their operations.”