Several weeks ago, at the Climate Leadership Conference, Mayor Murray announced a major new initiative to tackle climate change at the local level and take meaningful action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A sector-wide transportation initiative, Drive Clean Seattle is a key piece of the City’s climate action agenda, is one of the most comprehensive plans in the country to electrify transportation at scale, and sets us on a path to transition away from oil.
Drive Clean Seattle leads by example by investing in transforming the City of Seattle fleet. The Mayor has committed to reducing global warming pollution from the City’s fleet 50% by 2025. The tools to achieve this ambitious goal are already available. With Drive Clean Seattle we are ramping up our use of cleaner fuels and more efficient vehicles. Using a variety of types of electric vehicles, our new electric fleet will replace nearly 120,000 gallons of gasoline per year – that’s the equivalent of about 400 passenger sedans across the city’s fleet.
Cutting pollution depends not just on what fuel we use, but on the size of the fleet as well. Right-sizing our City vehicle fleet and investing in computerized idle control and other fuel saving technologies will save money and reduce pollution.
The City is taking the lead here, and we are challenging the private sector to match our commitment. Transitioning to electric fleets will save businesses money, introduces many more drivers to electric vehicles, and keeps fuel dollars circulating in the local economy. It is the right decision for the bottom line and for the environment. The key now is to expand opportunities for transportation electrification to everyone in the City. With Drive Clean Seattle, we are committing to make Seattle a brighter, cleaner and more vibrant place to live for all of our residents – starting right now with our own fleet.