NYC Set to Add 900 EVs to City Fleet

The ink had barely dried on a $10.1 million grant check from the US Transportation Department last week, before New York announced plans to replace more than 900 city-owned, fossil fuel-powered vehicles with electric ones and add 315 more EV charging stations — including 382 Chevy Bolt EVs like the one shown (above), as well as 360 units of Ford E-Transit vans, 150 Ford F-150 Lightning pickups, and 25 plug-in hybrid street sweepers.

The grant, itself, benefits both the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) and the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY), and is intended to help assist the City of New York in reaching its lofty goal of a completely electric light- and medium-duty vehicle fleet by 2035. Additionally, the funds will facilitate the installation 315 new EV chargers across the city, with the DCAS set to receive more than $6 million.

“Thanks to this investment from the Biden Administration, the city is poised to make huge progress on making our fleet more climate friendly,” said Meera Joshi, New York’s Deputy Mayor for Operations. “Our agencies rely on these vehicles to complete vital operations within the five boroughs, and this funding helps us decarbonize some of the hardest vehicles to decarbonize: heavy-duty trucks. From cleaning the streets to getting our air cleaner, the trucks move us in the right direction.”

DCAS Commissioner, Dawn Pinnock, is similarly excited. “We are laying the groundwork for an all-electric fleet of the future that will support critical citywide operations while benefiting the environment,” she said. “Through this funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation, we are poised to make a significant transition for our light- and medium-duty fleet. This is a critical next step for our agency as we lead the charge in government fleet operations.”

The NYC announcement is the most recent made by a US government to hasten the transition from fossil-powered ICE cars to electric automobiles, and means that nearly 20% of the city’s municipal fleet be fully electric by the end of this year. New York City currently operates more than 4,000 government-owned EVs.

Source | Images: Reuters; GM Authority.