Jacksonville moves forward with 18-vehicle electric fleet pilot and city charging sites

The Transportation, Energy and Utilities Committee on Oct. 7 heard a presentation on the city’s electric-vehicle pilot program and planned city charging infrastructure.

The pilot identified 18 low-risk city vehicles — primarily building-inspection vehicles that average 50–100 miles per day — and the city will install chargers at selected municipal sites. Richard Reichard, director of administrative services, said planning and development funds (not general-fund dollars) paid for the chargers and the selected vehicles.

The presentation said most of the 18 EVs purchased were at the same or a lower purchase price than comparable gasoline models and that charging costs for those vehicles are roughly half of what fueling with gasoline costs. "Cost of ownership of EVs is about 8 to 9% less than a gas powered vehicle," Reichard told the committee.

Eric Preacher, chief of fleet management, explained why inspectors were chosen for the pilot: "Many of the vehicles that we chose, if not all of them, are inspectors for the building inspection division ... These people go out, look at individual homes, job sites,…