Should FPD be buying hybrid cruisers?
In the interest of saving money and a cleaner Framingham, today's Globe has a piece about Hingham's police department buying hybrid cruisers. Police chief David Jones reports that the Town has saved 34,600 in fuel costs over a year.
If you remember 2 years ago, our PD wanted to replace older cars with new ones. Not once did they justify the purchases, but Christine Long had a personal conversation with Chief Trask. That was it... just on her word.
Hingham’s seven new hybrid police cruisers use almost half as much fuel as their old gas-powered counterparts — saving a projected $34,600 in fuel costs over a year, according to the police chief.
“It’s a really incredible reduction,” Chief David Jones told selectmen at a Jan. 13 budget meeting.
He said the hybrid vehicles also emitted approximately 55.5 fewer metric tons of carbon dioxide over the past six months.
“In a time when costs continue to rise across the board, it is especially important to find ways to save money in any way we can,” Jones said. “These vehicles not only result in a cost savings for the town but are also much better for the environment, and will hopefully lead to additional hybrids being purchased for use by town employees in the future.”The town bought the 2021 Ford Police Interceptor Hybrid vehicles last year to use as patrol cars. Each hybrid vehicle cost about $3,500 more than an equivalent gas-powered one, Jones said.
That means the projected fuel savings more than covers the approximately $24,500 extra the seven hybrids cost, he said. The hybrid vehicles used approximately 46 percent less fuel, Jones said.
He calculated that over six months, the hybrids saved the town approximately $17,300 — or roughly $34,600 if calculated for an entire year.
Material on the Ford website says the hybrid vehicle is well-suited to law enforcement since police cruisers spend a lot of time idling, a time when the electricity from batteries can take over.
Johanna Seltz can be reached at seltzjohanna@gmail.com.
posted by Jim Pillsbury @ 3:06 PM
2 Comments
2 Comments:
Jim we will likely see some hybrids bought this year. I'd be surprised if they weren't asked for over the past couple of years and the council just wouldn't go along just to screw over Mayor Spicer. Mayor Charlie will need some environmental bullets for his speech next year.
Or maybe he will have the school bus company switch to electric buses or maybe still he will direct the DPW to go with natural gas fired waste and recycle trucks. There's plenty of environmentally friendly steps he can take now if he wants too.
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