NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced the addition of 70 new electric vehicles to the city’s fleet and launched new efforts to provide New Yorkers with the facts about electric vehicles. 

New York City already has the largest municipal electric vehicle fleet in the country. The fleet now totals 430 electric vehicles with the addition of the 70 new EVs.

The city hosted a free electric car information session and documentary screening in Central Park on July 12, and also launched an EV information Web site. 

Bloomberg made the announcement at the Department of Sanitation’s Central Repair Shop in Maspeth, Queens. He was joined by Department of Sanitation Commissioner John J. Doherty along with representatives from the New York Power Authority, the Environmental Defense Fund, the Sierra Club, Azure Dynamics, General Motors, Navistar International Corp. and Coulomb Technologies Inc.

“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. “We will continue to lead by example, but we also must provide New Yorkers with tools to make environmentally friendly choices in their own lives. When provided with the facts, people become far more likely to choose an electric vehicle.”

“While we are doing our part to make city agency fleets greener, we’re also working to help New Yorkers to have more sustainable choices in their lives as well,” added David Bragdon, director of the Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability. “Our goal is to arm the public with information and provide the resources that will allow New Yorkers to reduce their environmental impacts and long-term energy bills.”

New York City’s electric vehicle program is made possible due to a partnership with the New York State Power Authority and funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Each helped fund a portion of the cost differential between the purchase of an electric vehicle and gas-powered vehicle. Moreover, the U.S. Department of Energy provided a grant to the charger manufacturer Coulomb to provide the public charging stations installed throughout the city.