The City of Omaha is taking steps to add more electric vehicles to the City's fleet. On Tuesday the Omaha City Council will vote on whether or not to spend nearly $80,000 on two Chevy Bolts and a Nissan Leaf. The vehicles would be used by the parking reinforcement department.
There are also plans to place up to 40 public charging stations throughout the city. Ken Smith is Omaha’s Parking and Mobility manager and tells 6 news it makes sense to replace the older vehicles with electric powered ones.
“I know what my fuel costs are and I look at the use of these vehicles gain and then with EV charging station it just makes sense to move that way. And additionally, I think our fleet services, that division is interested in seeing how these vehicles could be used in other departments."
Smith says the stop and go nature of the city traffic is ideal for electric vehicles. Every time they slow down and stop, they generate energy.
The city says it plans to get the bid out for its charging station project early next year at the latest. As for exactly how many there will be and when they’ll be put to use, that’s still being figured out
Between 2017 and 2018, sales in Nebraska went from around 250 to more than 600. In Iowa, it went from about 430 to more than 900.