According to the Associated Press, city employees in Pittsburgh will be driving their own hybrid cars soon. The mayor of Pittsburgh, Bill Peduto, has a plan to convert the city’s fleet to electric vehicles, but in the meantime city employees will be given hybrid electric vehicles to drive.
The city of Pittsburgh has apparently ordered two Ford Focuses and two Chevrolet Bolts, as well as installed charging stations for the vehicles. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection will be providing $205,000 to help offset the cost of the four hybrid vehicles.
Peduto wants to replace the city’s fleet of around 1,000 gasoline powered vehicles, with all electric cars by 2030. Slim Forsythe, the fixed asset manager of Pittsburgh, said that the current effort are baby steps towards complete electrical conversion. According to Forsythe, Pittsburgh is hoping to add seven electric vehicles and a group of police cruisers to the city’s resources by the end of 2017.
Peduto has voiced support for renewable energy sources and electric vehicles. He has criticized Pres. Donald Trump’s decision to leave Paris accord, despite from invoking Pittsburgh’s name in his defense of the decision.
