NYC adds 50 Chevy Volts to NYPD fleet of vehicles

July 16, 2011 By Mike Flacy

With green technology becoming more mainstream, New York City is attempting to reduce air pollution be adding electric-powered cars to the fleet of official vehicles.

As part of the PlaNYC initiative to build a more environmental friendly version of New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the addition of 70 plug-in vehicles including fifty Chevy Volt cars to be shared by the New York police department and the fire department. Other vehicles include ten Ford Transit Connect cargo vans and ten Navistar utility trucks. By adding the cars to the vast fleet of NYC automobiles, officials hope to reduce gas consumption and costs as well as carbon emissions and air pollution.

The Chevy Volt uses batteries to propel the car for the first 35 miles as well as a gasoline-powered engine to charge the batteries for long-distance driving. The cars are rated at 35 mpg and can be recharged at a standard or 240-volt outlet. The NYPD already utilizes electric-powered golf carts and scooters to navigate around public walkways, but this is the first electric vehicle approved for the busy, congested city streets. The police and fire department are planning on initially using the Volts for non-emergency use.

The city is also working with taxi companies on the New York City’s Taxi of Tomorrow program. Nissan is working with taxi owners on a pilot program by providing Nissan LEAF cars to taxi companies as well as placing charging stations around the city. According to data released by the NYC government, carbon emissions are reduced by 75 percent by switching to electric vehicles and the amount of engine heat is reduced dramatically on the busy city corridors.

According to a survey by McKinsey & Company, the majority of NYC residents are unaware of the benefits to electric vehicles. Only 30 percent of NYC citizens understood the limitations and benefits of driving electric-powered cars. However, providing this knowledge to the consumer and actively educating NYC residents increases the likelihood of an electric car purchase by 21 percent.

Showing 8 comments

JSIWICKI at 5:41am 20th July 2011 "can be recharged at a standard or 240-volt outlet." So you plug it into the wall and your meter starts spinning as fast as a top. Where does the electricity come from? Coal fired power plants. The same ones the environmental idiots who drive these cars are trying to shut down because they pollute the air. Here are some more dirty little secrets. The Volt runs only on premium gas (ouch!), uses the gas engine to start and it kicks in again at highway speeds. In other words, it uses the gas engine most of the time. The government has bought the majority of the Volts sold. Imagine that, Government Motors (GM) cannot sell enough of these vehicles to the public so they are buying them from themselves with YOUR tax dollars. GE has also committed to buying a couple hundred of them. GE provides most of the components and has a vested interest in its success. There will be a time in the future where the technology and batteries can compete and surpass the traditional technology, but we are not there yet. In the meantime we are sitting on more oil in the Bakken Region (basically the Dakota's) than they have in the Middle East and these same environmental wackos will not allow us to drill for it. Time to wake up and smell the coffee folks.
Robert Stamm at 1:13pm 17th July 2011 Watch out Robers you will not be able to hear the new electric cars
Brent R Jones at 4:10pm 17th July 2011 Give me an update in 1 year.
trademarkapplication2011 at 10:38pm 16th July 2011 The 50 Volts bought by the City will mostly be split between the New York City Department of Sanitation, the Fire Department of New York, and the New York Police Department, with a few going to other city agencies. While it’s believed that the NYPD Volts are the first to be pressed into police service, don’t expect to see them jumping curbs or performing PIT maneuvers anytime soon. Like the NYPD’s Toyota Prius, Nissan Altima Hybrids, and Ford Fusion Hybrids, the new Volts won’t see use as patrol cars. The hybrids will be relegated to traffic enforcement duty — controlling congestion on Canal Street and in Times Square, and dolling out tickets to those who choose to ignore alternate side parking rules and park too close to fire hydrants.
Dan Gaul at 7:41pm 16th July 2011 Great first steps. It makes sense to have government vehicles be eco friendly.
Jeremy Steele at 1:32am 17th July 2011 This is why NY is broke, Aaron.
Thor Beardless at 1:27am 17th July 2011 arnt those like 30 or 40 g's apiece?? plus outfitting them to be cop cars. geeeze
Aaron Bostic at 1:23am 17th July 2011 Thought NY was broke, just saying