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DAVIDSON COUNTY—Paying at the pump is a little less painful for Davidson County's transportation department.

The department converted 12 of its 14 buses to run on propane autogas; a fuel that only costs the county a $1.55 per gallon. At 4,500 gallons per week, support services Director Dwayne Childress said that will save the county $20,000 to $30,000 a year.

"What it allows us to do is continue on some of the contracts we have with some of the local taxi cab service for some of the people that cannot get to a bus stop to their doctors appointments. It actually stretches that dollar to allow that to happen," said Childress.

While the county plans to save a lot of money on fuel costs alone, it said it will also save on other expenses in the long-term, like service costs. Blossman Gas provides the propane and helped the county secure a grant to pay for the conversions. It cost about $75,000.

"It's going to save money for our tax payers. A lot of fleet vehicles change their oil somewhere around every 3,000 5,000 miles. We've got some vehicles close to 10,000 without having to change that oil," said Blossman Gas General Manager Jimmy Daley.

The conversion has been so successful, the county is considering converting other county vehicles to propane autogas also.