NYC Mayor Cutting City's Vehicle Fleet
The city will eliminate least 1,000 vehicles from its fleet by June 2021 and will reduce the number of take-home vehicles by at least 500 vehicles, curtail the reliance on SUVs in the city fleet, and promote increased vehicle efficiency by using advanced data collection.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio signed an executive order March 28 that will reduce the size of the city's on-road vehicle fleet, a move intended to support the city's commitment to address climate change and reduce emissions 80 percent by 2050. The city will eliminate least 1,000 vehicles from its fleet by June 2021 and will reduce the number of take-home vehicles by at least 500 vehicles, curtail the reliance on SUVs in the city fleet, and promote increased vehicle efficiency by using advanced data collection.
The news release from the mayor's office says the order means an estimated 10 million fewer miles will be driven by city vehicles each year, reducing congestion and cutting the city's annual fuel consumption by 500,000 gallons. The city's fleet currently has 25,690 on-road vehicles.
"Sustainability isn't about maintaining the status quo, it's about changing the way we live and get around," the mayor said. "Eliminating unnecessary vehicles from our streets and replacing gas-guzzling SUVs with electric cars will bring us one step closer to our carbon emission reduction goals, which means a cleaner New York City for all."
"The climate crisis is real and it's urgent, and that is why we are scaling back and greening up the city's vehicle fleet," said Lisette Camilo, commissioner of the NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services. "To support Mayor de Blasio's vision for a cleaner and safer New York, we are using new technology to right-size the city's fleet and to more efficiently use the cars we do need."
"Leading the charge against climate change means constantly finding new ways to increase efficiency and decrease emissions," added Mark Chambers, director of the Mayor's Office of Sustainability. "This executive order uses a thorough, data-driven approach to make the nation's greenest fleet even greener."
The city now operates more than 1,750 on-road electric vehicles and a network of more than 568 electric vehicle charging stations. And last year, the city began using renewable diesel. In addition, the city has ordered its first 190 hybrid pursuit-rated police vehicles.