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The price of fuel is now high enough to make the extra cost of a hybrid car economical if you can afford a new vehicle. A homemade biodiesel/electric car is possible too. In NYS there is a special class for less than highway speed electric vehicles. Since we have a graying population locally, the demand for electric bikes and scooters is growing. A capacitor system for electric bikes is ideal for stop and go traffic.
Lead acid batteries are heavy and have to be replaced every five years on average. One way to extend the life is to reduce the sulfate build up in the bottom of the cells. I saw an article where a circulating pump flushed the bottom of each cell. The recycling of batteries involves handling the sulfuric acid as well as the lead alloy.
Where population density warrants, a good diesel/electric bus or trolley system can be very efficient and convenient. In Third World countries private cars are beyond the financial means of most people. Increasingly that is becoming the case here. We have a decent county wide bus system and regional carriers that run to major cities. The big snag right now is that the county systems are not well coordinated.
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