Police officers in New York City will now be able to boast that they drive environmentally friendly cars and, as an added bonus, approach possible offenders silently. That’s because 50 Chevrolet Volts have been added to the 40 Nissan Altima Hybrids of the NYPD fleet, as a part of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s PlaNYC project for lowering emissions and creating, in his own words, “a greener, greater New York City”.
The 50 Volts will be shared between nine police departments. The NYPD will also get 10 Ford Transit Connect vans and 10 Navi-star E-star trucks, increasing the number of city-owned plug-in vehicles to 430 vehicles. Mayor Bloomberg also wants to add more EVs to New York’s fleet of almost 13,000 taxis.
"This is the latest and largest-ever addition of electric vehicles to the City's fleet, which is already the largest municipal clean-air vehicle fleet in the nation," said Bloomberg.
"We will continue to lead by example, but we also must provide New Yorkers with tools to make environmentally friendly choices in their own lives. Our job is to ensure the public has the facts, ensure they can make their own decisions and ensure that if they want to drive an electric vehicle, we are providing the infrastructure needed,” the NYC mayor added.
