New York City Expands Electric Car Fleet, Hopes Citizens Will Follow
NEW YORK (WCBS 880 / AP) - New York City already had the largest municipal electric car fleet in the country and now it's getting even bigger and Mayor Michael Bloomberg is hoping that an education campaign will lead more residents to buy electric cars.
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The city launched an informational website about the green cars on Tuesday and Bloomberg announced that his administration is adding 70 new electric vehicles to the 360 already in the city's fleet (for a total of 430).
Bloomberg says they're just getting started.
"Our goal is replacing a significant portion of light duty vehicles, which make up nearly half of the almost 27,000-vehicle city fleet," says Bloomberg.
On Tuesday night, city officials and environmental experts offered an information session. Residents got a chance to check out electric vehicles in Central Park.
After that, participants were invited to settle down for an outdoor screening of the documentary "Revenge of the Electric Car.''
Bloomberg says the city's new electric vehicles produce one-quarter of the carbon dioxide created by average traditional engines.
"So, converting more of our vehicles to electronic power is a very big step towards our PlaNYC goal of shrinking the city government's carbon footprint," says Bloomberg.
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