The City of Atlanta announced Tuesday that, under legislation approved the City Council, it will deploy one of the largest municipal fleets of electric vehicles in the United States by the end of 2015. The measure is part of Mayor Kasim Reed’s plan to make Atlanta one of the nation’s leading cities for sustainability, reducing the city’s use of fossil fuels and saving taxpayers thousands of dollars per year.
To power the fleet, a new electric vehicle charging station is located on Mitchell Street near Atlanta City Hall. The charging station is open to the public.
“Replacing our current cars with clean-fueled vehicles, powered by cutting-edge technology, is a historic step for the City of Atlanta,” said Reed. “The program is yet another example of how we are fully invested in making Atlanta a healthier and more prosperous city.”
Spearheaded by the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability, the new vehicle fleet program is aligned with the City’s Power to Change Plan which seeks to reduce vehicle emissions by 20 percent by the year 2020. In partnership with Vision Fleet, a plug-in vehicle fleet company, Atlanta developed a cost-effective alternative to conventional vehicles.
“This project will have enormous impacts on fuel consumption and fleet service costs,” said Vision Fleet CEO Michael Brylawski. “For example, each of the 50 electric vehicles deployed will save at least 550-600 gallons of gas annually. In addition, fuel costs for the new electric vehicles will be about one-third of the old gas vehicles costs, and maintenance will be reduced by approximately 40 percent.”
