ANN ARBOR – The city of Ann Arbor has pledged to electrify its city vehicles by 2020.
The news was announced Friday in Honolulu, Hawaii, at the second annual Climate Mayors Summit by Climate Mayors Electric Vehicle Purchasing Collaborative. The collaborative announced that 127 cities in 38 states have pledged to purchase more than 2,100 EVs by the end of next year.
According to a press release, "Since 2004, the City of Ann Arbor has had a Green Fleets Policy, aimed at enhancing fuel efficiency and supporting alternative fueled vehicles within the city fleet. In 2018, the city updated its Green Fleets Policy, directing all city departments to work toward a 25% reduction in fleet-related emissions by 2025."
Currently, Ann Arbor operates three EVs, has a natural gas street sweeper and three natural gas garbage trucks. It also owns two hybrid bucket trucks and four hydraulic-hybrid recycling trucks.
City of Ann Arbor officials said by making the transition to EVs, the city will help save taxpayer money, improve public health, cut greenhouse gas emissions and reduce the national dependency on oil.
According to the collaborative, the impact of 127 cities joining the effort to shift to EV fleets by the end of 2020 will have the potential to:
- Cut gas usage by up to 1 million gallons each year.
- Transition to 25 million electric miles driven each year.
- Add more than $75 million in purchasing power to the electric vehicle market
"Emissions from vehicles are a major source of pollutants in local communities around the nation. In fact, in Ann Arbor, we anticipate emissions from the transportation sector soon growing to be our largest source of emissions," Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor said in a statement. "Given this, it is imperative that local communities do all they can to support and expand active transportation, alternative transportation, and the clean transportation revolution."
"Cities across the country are demonstrating critical leadership by committing to transition their fleets to electrification -- reducing our dependence on oil, while also improving our nation’s health and our economic and national security," Ben Prochazka, vice president of the Electrification Coalition, said in a statement. "We hope other mayors around the country will see this as a call to action and plug their fleets into the Climate Mayors EV Purchasing Collaborative."
Through the purchase from the collaborative, the city will gain access to charging infrastructure and will be able to enjoy leasing options that will utilize state and federal tax credits to reduce EV costs.
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