Eastchester and NYPA Join Together to Provide State's First Public Fleet Use of TH!NK "All-Electric" Vehicle
Contact Brian Warner 914-390-8183 brian.warner@nypa.gov Mr. Zeltmann's remarks
October 23, 2001
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
EASTCHESTER—The Town of Eastchester and the New York Power Authority (NYPA) announced Tuesday (Oct. 23) they are teaming up to provide New York’s first public fleet use of Ford Motor Company’s new TH!NK city vehicle—the first commercially available car designed from the "ground up" as all-electric.
"Eastchester, under Governor Pataki’s leadership for developing environmentally-sound energy initiatives, is the first municipality in New York to make the all-electric TH!NK car part of its municipal fleet," said Jim Cavanaugh, supervisor of the Town of Eastchester. "This low maintenance, zero-emission vehicle brings the people of Eastchester the tax-saving benefit of lower operating costs with the environmental benefit of cleaner air."
"Reducing taxpayers’ expenses and improving the air, with the TH!NK city in our Town fleet, is an economy-smart, ecology-smart combination for Eastchester. We are grateful to the Governor and NYPA for the opportunity to demonstrate these advantages for use throughout New York," Supervisor Cavanaugh added.
"Coming just one week after the Power Authority introduced the NYPA/TH!NK Clean Commute, the nation’s largest electric station-car program, as part of Governor Pataki’s electric vehicle initiatives, Eastchester is joining with the Power Authority to show the versatility of all-electric cars by putting one to work to save the environment and save taxpayers’ money, too," said Joseph J. Seymour, chairman and chief executive officer of the Power Authority.
"By utilizing the TH!NK city, Eastchester is advancing on the local level Governor Pataki’s initiatives for clean fueled vehicles which also include tax credits, bond act financing and an Executive Order directing all state vehicles to be clean fueled by 2010," said Eugene W. Zeltmann, president and chief operating officer of the Power Authority. Zeltmann is also the co-chairman of the Electric Vehicle Association of the Americas, an industry group working to further electric vehicles.
"The Eastchester Police Department is fast becoming a leader in fleet uses for electric vehicles," said David Speidell, chief of the Eastchester Police Department. "We are successfully using the electric-assist bike in our patrols and now, this new, non-polluting and quiet electric vehicle, will make our parking enforcement program more environmentally and economically responsible to our community."
The emissions caused by the frequent starts and stops of traditional vehicles, when driving around to perform parking patrols, are eliminated with the all-electric TH!NK city. The TH!NK city is a practically maintenance-free vehicle. Once a year it has an overall systems check, which is less costly and labor intensive than traditional vehicle maintenance requiring monitoring and servicing of fuel, oil, spark plugs and transmission systems.
The low-cost electricity, that Eastchester purchases from the Power Authority, will now also be used to power the TH!NK city which, when charged nightly at a cost of about $1.46, will be ready for a day’s use.
"At about $1.46 per day, the cost of operating this electric car is less than the price of a gallon of gas," said Supervisor Cavanaugh.
The TH!NK city is designed for short trip uses, like in public applications such as parking patrols, which require the versatility of a car but also need to be environmentally responsible. Its compact size, 9.8 ft long, 5.25 ft wide and 5.1 ft high, makes it suitable for use in urban settings and when maneuvering in tight, trafficked spaces such as when monitoring area parking.
With this all-electric car use, the town is building on its established relationship with the Power Authority. The town is a municipal customer of the Power Authority’s low-cost electricity for use in lighting streets and municipal buildings, among other public uses. Eastchester’s Zap electric-assist bicycle costs 33 cents in Power Authority low-cost electricity to charge for a day’s use.
The TH!NK city is a two-passenger electric vehicle with a range of 53 city miles and a top speed of 56 miles per hour. It has a corrosion-free, dent-resistant, recyclable thermoplastic body, over a lightweight steel and aluminum frame. It has a driver-side airbag and meets all federal crash tests with seatbelts.
Eastchester receives the loan of a Ford TH!NK city from the Power Authority until late 2002 when these vehicles will be available under a lease program being developed for local governments.
Eastchester is instituting the TH!NK city as part of the process of becoming a participant in the Power Authority’s "Green Zones" program. "Green Zones" are certain geographic areas—designated by municipalities, park operators, colleges and others—for the use of non-polluting vehicles so services using the vehicles can be provided in an economically, energy-efficient and environmentally beneficial way.
The New York Power Authority’s electric transportation program has deployed 200 electric vehicles, in its own fleet and the fleets of several government customers, ranging from full-sized buses to battery-powered bicycles. Last year, these NYPA electric vehicles became part of the Electric Vehicle Association of the Americas’ "Million-Mile Club" making NYPA the first electric utility in the northeast to achieve that electric vehicle benchmark.
