Inaccessibility of filling stations a burden to Natural Gas demand

 A recent study conducted by SoonerPoll found that a large majority of Oklahoma voters, 79.8 percent, say Natural Gas filling stations are inaccessible.

Respondents were asked," How accessible would you say Natural Gas filling stations are?" Results showed that 65.6 percent of respondents said very inaccessible, while another 14.2 percent said somewhat inaccessible.

Keith Gaddie, Vice President of SoonerPoll, pointed out that Oklahoma sits on 'one of the world's great Natural Gas reserves' which makes it a prime location for low cost, Natural Gas filling stations.

"The cost of natural gas, per vehicle mile, is less than gasoline and will likely stay there for the foreseeable future," Gaddie said. "But we do not have an adequate infrastructure to exploit this energy advantage."

Only 2.6 percent of respondents indicated that they thought Natural Gas filling stations were very accessible and only 8.1 percent said somewhat accessible. Another 9.6 percent of respondents either had no opinion or refused to answer the question.

A majority of Oklahoma voters, 55.5 percent, say they would be more likely to buy a Natural Gas fueled vehicle if Natural Gas filing stations were more accessible.

Of the 79.8 percent of Oklahoma voters that say Natural Gas filling stations are inaccessible, 56.1 percent say they would be likely to buy a Natural Gas fueled vehicle if Natural Gas filing stations were more accessible.

Gaddie said that results like these clearly indicate that the market here in Oklahoma is prepared to "demand it, if they can get it" on the Natural Gas issue.

When Respondents were asked how likely they would be to buy a Natural Gas fueled vehicle if Natural Gas filing stations were more accessible, 58.1 percent of Democrats said they would be likely compared to 55.2 percent of Independents and just 52.7 percent of Republicans.

When those results are broken down by political affiliation, those who consider themselves to be somewhat liberal are most likely to buy a Natural Gas fueled vehicle with 62.9 percent. Somewhat liberal respondents are closely followed by moderate respondents with 61.4 percent and somewhat conservative respondents with 61.1 percent.

Very liberal and very conservative respondents are least likely to buy a natural gas vehicle, with 48.3 percent and 49.7 percent giving a 'likely' answer respectively.

"In my own hometown of Norman, I think there is one CNG fueling station. I know of one in Oklahoma City," Gaddie said. "Natural gas only becomes an option when it is readily available."

SoonerPoll.com, Oklahoma's public opinion pollster, commissioned and conducted the scientific study using live interviewers by telephone of 508 likely voters from Jan. 24 - Feb. 3. The study has a margin of error of ±4.35 percent.