The government of New York City initially aimed to electrify all non-emergency vehicles by 2040, and has now attained the first phase target of 4,000 units that was originally set for 2025.
The government of New York City has been expeditious in its electrification target. The overall plan was first proposed in 2015, and aims to increase 2,000 units of electric vehicles that will lower the emission of greenhouse gas from official vehicles to 50% that of 2005 during 2025.
It has been surprising to see the constantly accelerating adoption speed of electric vehicles. The official fleet of New York City had incorporated 3,000 BEVs during September last year, and the government decided to once again elevate the corresponding target by hoping to arrive at 4,000 battery electric official vehicles by 2025. The target has now been broken again since the number has come to 4,050.
New York City currently has 200 units of Ford Mustang Mach-E as patrol vehicles, 850 units of Chevy Bolts as vehicles for various government departments, and 300 units of Ford E-Transit that are used for engineering departments.
Something that is more interesting is that the government of New York City has been relatively active in adopting innovative EVs, including the first battery electric sweeper truck in the US that has now ascended to 7 units in the street of New York City, aside from these retail vehicles. In addition, battery electric garbage trucks have also initiated services in New York.
The government of New York City is now ready to add US$30 million for a mass purchase of battery electric school buses that will provide clean and comfortable rides to schools without having to endure the stinking diesel smell.
As pointed out by the study of the Columbia Climate School, New York City has unexpectedly become the US city with the best energy efficiency, and not Californian cities that are publicly praised for environmental protection. This has New York’s comparatively comprehensive public transportation system and aggressive corresponding measures for climate change to thank for.
New York City aims to replace all non-emergency official vehicles with BEVs by 2040, while police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances will retain a segment of fossil-fuel models in order to respond to sudden events. There are more than 30K units of official vehicles in New York City, and it would be necessary in building a large amount of charging piles for these official vehicles so that EVs can be easily utilized.
(Cover photo source: City of New York)