Another carbon neutrality step: City vehicles to go all Electric by 2030

Office of Sustainability released Municipal Clean Fleet Plan to turn 6000 vehicles green

Philly is making another step towards carbon neutrality and will stop buying gas-powered vehicles by 2030.

The City of Philadelphia’s Office of Sustainability in partnership with the Office of Fleet Management released a plan in October to transition 6000 vehicles in the city’s fleet to clean and electric vehicles. The vehicles represent about 13% of the municipal government’s carbon footprint. Transportation is the largest source of carbon emissions nationally.

A few of the key recommendations include:

• Setting new goals to create a pathway to zero emissions, including procuring no new gas-powered vehicles after 2030.
• Instituting a clean fleet procurement policy and establishing a vehicle procurement hierarch that prioritizes battery electric vehicles, but also aims to reduce the overall size of the fleet and the share of SUVs.
• Establishing a Clean Fleet Committee, directed by a new Transportation Electrification Manager, and with participation from several City agencies to oversee infrastructure issues and track goals.
• Optimizing alternative fueling and recommend the development of an electric vehicle infrastructure deployment scenario to minimize the costs of charging infrastructure.

Before transitioning to electric vehicles, the City will need to evaluate the infrastructure (i.e. charging stations and locations, etc.).

Philadelphia has adopted electric and alternative-fueled vehicles, including plug-in hybrids in 2014. The City now boasts (almost) 500 vehicles that are a mix of hybrids, plug-in hybrids, compressed natural gas-powered, and fully battery-electric along with 50 electric vehicle charging stations.

The transition of vehicles will help reduce carbon emissions, save money, support job creation, and position Philly as a leader.