Chicago Encourages Sustainable Switch to Electric Truck Fleets
With $15 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation, Chicago will distribute vouchers to cover part of the transition cost to electric vehicles.
Chicago will be making the switch from diesel to electric with an incentive program enacted by the city's mayor, Rahm Emanuel. The program, the first of its kind in the nation, will encourage the sustainable change in public and private truck fleets within the city.
The city accepted $15 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation to fund the program. Building electric fleets in both the public and sectors will be done through a distribution of vouchers. The vouchers given to truck fleets will compensate for 60 percent of the cost for switching to electric trucks.
It is estimated that 250 vouchers will be distributed. They will be offered when the sale of an electric truck is made, instead of on a rebate basis. The city believes that will encourage participation from companies in six of the Chicago area's counties.