Label
Replace City Fleet with Electric Vehicles
Komives
Title
A resolution declaring the intent of the Toledo City Council to replace the City Fleet's oldest, least efficient vehicles with efficient and cost-effective Electric Vehicles, and declaring an emergency
Summary
SUMMARY & BACKGROUND:
While the purchasing price of Electric Vehicles (EVs) is quickly finding parity with gasoline-fueled vehicles, already their lower maintenance and fuel costs can yield significant savings over time, and furthermore, the operation of an EV greatly reduces carbon emissions that are correlated with negative global environmental effects and air quality reduction in the Toledo region. Automakers are sensing the shift in America's market for new fuel-efficient vehicles as consumers are purchasing according to their environmental and financial priorities, and lowering the overall cost of purchasing an EV as they become more available. From 2010 to 2022, the number of light-duty EV models for sale in the United States grew from one single model to over 130 models. There are also tax credits available through the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) which strongly incentivize the purchasing of EVs. Taken together, there are a myriad of reasons why Electric Vehicles are beneficial from financial, environmental, and public health lenses.
1. Efficiency
a. EVs take advantage of the inherent high efficiency of electric motors, making the average EV 3.6 times more energy efficient than a similar conventional vehicle.
b. Because EVs are more efficient than conventional vehicles, they use far less energy and, considering the lower cost of electricity compared to gasoline, have substantially lower operating costs. Efficiency for EVs is typically expressed in miles per gallon of gasoline equivalent (MPGe), which represents the number of miles a vehicle can travel using a quantity of electricity with the same energy content as a gallon of gasoline (33 kilowatt-hours [kWh]).
c. While the co...
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