Austin Police Department adds 2 electric patrol cars to fleet

New APD electric patrol vehicles

Austin police now have two electric patrol vehicles in their fleet. It's part of a pilot program, which will last six to 12 months. The city says it will be more environmentally friendly and cost-efficient.

AUSTIN, Texas - Austin police now have two electric patrol vehicles in their fleet. It's part of a pilot program, which will last six to 12 months. 

The city says it will be more environmentally friendly and cost-efficient. 

New APD electric patrol cars

The backstory:

"We test these vehicles first, and then we evaluate them in the field, and then, we take that feedback, and then phase and scale up from there," said Rick Harland, assistant director of Austin Fleet Mobility Services. 

Manufactured by General Motors, the EVs can go up to 130 miles per hour and accelerate from zero to 60 miles per hour in four seconds.

They can run for 14 -16 hours at a time and are quieter than gas-powered ones.

The EVs are built for police use. The main difference between these and gas-powered ones is how they accelerate.

"We really wanted these vehicles to be as identical as possible to the current operation," Harland said.

Once all the officers get trained on them, which will be about 30 to 60 days, you'll start to see the EVs downtown. That way, they're close to their charging station and police headquarters.

Dig deeper:

The money for these comes from the general fund. The city says maintaining a gas-powered vehicle costs about 30 cents per mile. An electric one is about 10 cents per mile.

"There is some cost, because it does cost us to charge these vehicles, and it does cause us to maintain them, but you can see that the differential is pretty substantial," Harland said.

"It is beneficial for our climate, but it's beneficial for pocketbook. These are cheaper to maintain, they are cheaper to operate," Council Member Ryan Alter (District 5) said.

What's next:

While these are the first electric vehicles for APD, there are already about 400 EVs across other city departments.

"We're just interested to see how the electric vehicle itself will operate and complement what the rest of our fleet really is right now," Assistant Chief Sheldon Askew with APD, said. 

If APD does get more electric vehicles, it would be in the 2027.