• South Pasadina in California becomes the first U.S. city to equip its police department with only all-electric vehicles.
Electrification is not just about individual choices made by consumers, but also about decisions made by different groups, notably governments. Electric vehicles, for example, are increasingly finding their way into the fleet used by municipalities and other levels of government.
South Pasadena, near Los Angeles in California, has just unveiled a new vehicle fleet for its police department. The particularity of that fleet is that it consists of nothing but EVs; the city thus becomes the first in the U.S. to fully its gasoline-powered police vehicles with all-electric ones.
The announcement was made yesterday as officials unveiled a fleet of 20 Tesla vehicles. Authorities say the Tesla police cars will use new electric vehicle chargers installed at City Hall.
The move is designed to help protect public health and combat climate change by reducing the pollutant emissions inherent in the use of vehicles with combustion engines.
As well as being more economical to run, think also of the instances when gasoline-powered vehicles have their engines idling when officers are responding. The potential savings are significant.
Said Michael Cacciotti, City Council member and regional air quality manager, “This is important, particularly in the Los Angeles area, which still has the most unhealthful air in the nation. We hope other police departments in the region and state will make the switch, too.”
Many cities have a few electric vehicles in their fleets, but South Pasadena is the first municipality to go entirely electric, officials say. Neighbouring Anaheim has added six Teslas to its fleet of patrol cars as part of a pilot project launched earlier this year.
Sgt. Tony Abdalla of the South Pasadena Police Department said via email that his department is closely following some 35 others across the U.S. who are willing to share their experiences with the incorporation of one or more Teslas into their respective fleets.
The police department will benefit from 10 Model Y SUVs for patrolling and 10 Model 3 cars for detective and administrative duties.
“We will have a 21st-century police force that is safe, clean and saves taxpayer dollars.”
- South Pasadena Mayor Evelyn Zneimer, via a news release
The cost of making the switch to EVs is estimated at $1.85 million, with the expectation being the city will save $4,000 per vehicle, per year, in gasoline and other costs. That's $80,000 a year for the fleet, which may not sound like much (it would take just over 20 years to recoup the initial cost), but consider that gasoline-powered vehicles would also have had to be replaced during this period, at a similar cost. So we're talking about long-term savings.
Above all, the issue of pollution is on everyone's lips in California. If you've passed through there in recent years, you'll know how bad smog can be on certain days. The region is the worst in the U.S. in this respect, according to the American Lung Association.
Autoblog site reminds us as well of a California rule called “Advanced Clean Fleets”, which requires public agencies to ensure that 50 percent of their vehicle purchases are zero-emission starting this year. This figure will rise to 100 percent by 2027. Police and emergency vehicles are exempt, however. Which makes the City of South Pasadena a proactive stakeholder in this regard.
