By Police1 Staff
NEW YORK — The New York Police Department will add more electric cars to its fleet, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced.
“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,” Bloomberg said in a press statement. “We will continue to lead by example.”
Fifty Chevrolet Volts – models that after being charged, can travel almost 40 miles before tapping into their internal combustion engines – mark the first time the NYPD has used electric cars, Fox News reported.
The department has several hybrids on the force already.
The NYPD’s Toyota Prius, Ford Fusion Hybrids, and Nissan Altima Hybrids aren’t used for patrol, and similarly, the Volts will be limited to traffic enforcement duty.
In addition to acting as traffic enforcers and non-emergency vehicles, the cars will hopefully educate New Yorkers about electric car ownership, the Mayor’s office said. They are part of a larger effort by the city to reduce emissions, air pollution and gas consumption.