Title
Electrification of Fleet (B)
Discuss the fleet replacement of in-town motor pool vehicles with Electric Vehicles.
Explanation
During the August 17, 2017 City Commission meeting, a referral was made to the General Policy Committee to discuss the electrication of the City fleet.
Currently, there are almost 27,000 electric vehicles (EV's) registered in the state of Florida. Only a few models are currently available but the market penetration and availability is growing quickly. The vehicles are safe, convenient and lower operating costs while demonstrating community leadership in environmental awareness. EV's use batteries to store electrical energy to power the motor. The batteries are charged by plugging the vehicles into an electric power source (charging station). EV's use no petroleum-based fuel while driving and therefore produce no tailpipe emmissions.
As a pilot program, Gainesville's Fleet Management will start purchasing EV's. Since EV's have a shorter range than conventional vehicles, EV's will be purchased to replace our in-town motor pool vehicles. Six (6) units are due for replacement in FY18 and five (5) units in FY19. The Nissan Leaf will be purchased (National Joint Powers Alliance contract) and charge point station equipment will be installed.
Although the initial costs to implement an electric fleet are going to be more expensive, the total cost for maintaining and operating should be lowered during the total life cycle of vehicle. Plug-in Electric Vehicles (PEVs) will lower fuel costs and emissions; and the energy dollars will stay in our local utility which can create new infrastructure and incentives for public EV charging.
Electric vehicles have a significant maintenance and service cost reduction compared to internal combustion engines vehicles. EV’s have fewer fluids to change and less moving parts to inspect and replace. There are certifications for technicians to become an EV technician. The training prog...
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