South Pasadena’s police automotive fleet is anticipated to go absolutely electrical by the beginning of subsequent yr.
The town is leasing 20 Teslas via Enterprise for at the least 5 years for police patrol duties, administration and detective work. Some autos are already in use, Deputy Metropolis Supervisor Domenica Megerdichian stated, whereas others used for patrol should nonetheless be correctly outfitted.
Practically $2 million in metropolis funds was allotted to the leasing settlement, which incorporates 10 Tesla Mannequin Y autos and 10 Tesla Mannequin 3 autos, in line with Metropolis Council agenda stories. The town additionally obtained $500,000 in funding from a committee that works to scale back automobile air pollution within the South Coast area.
Greater than 30 charging ports, together with some for public use, can be put in at South Pasadena Metropolis Corridor parking heaps in partnership with Southern California Edison.
“We now have been investigating this transition for 5 to 6 years and decided that these electrical autos would be the finest operationally for us,” South Pasadena Police Chief Brian Solinsky stated in an announcement. “They’re the most secure and quickest autos and can save the town cash in decrease upkeep and fueling prices.”
Councilmember Michael Cacciotti, who championed the transition to electrical autos, stated that South Pasadena had “a protracted historical past of supporting clear air autos and transition to wash air gear,” citing the town’s conversion to electrical garden gear in 2016 for metropolis grounds and parks upkeep.
Cacciotti, who purchased the first-generation Prius about 20 years in the past, stated that South Pasadena is the primary metropolis within the nation to totally convert a police automotive fleet to electrical autos.
“We’re setting the gold customary for the US, and doubtless the world,” he stated.
Megerdichian stated that South Pasadena, which covers 3.4 sq. miles and homes one of many Gold Line Metro stops, is “environmentally acutely aware” and has lengthy taken steps to be extra bike- and pedestrian-friendly. The town expects to avoid wasting greater than $300,000 per automobile over the following 10 years in gas and upkeep prices.
The Metropolis Council accepted the transfer in September, and expects the electrical automobile transition to be absolutely in place by subsequent February.
Megerdichian says a lot of the metropolis’s police autos are prepared to get replaced and can be turned in or will go to public sale.
