Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, the country's 12th largest airport, purchased its first electric vehicle to be used by the parking management staff.
The electric powered utility truck is a $22,000 Cushman vehicle. It has the ability to run up to 55 miles on a single charge and could save the airport a significant amount of money on a yearly basis.
The Cushman will cost approximate $200 to charge throughout the course of a year. The savings is significant compared to the $818 it would cost the airport to fuel a Ford Escape Hybrid or $1,653 it would cost to fuel an F-150 pickup truck.
The airport expects to add additional electric vehicles to its fleet. According to Patrick Hogan the director of public affairs, "Eventually we could have 20 to 30 vehicles if the performance is what we hope it will be."
Recently the airport added 10 wind powered generators at a cost of $100,000. In theory they could be used to charge the truck at no cost, but the airport does not intend to use them in that way.
Electric vehicles have begun to trickle into fleet use where their savings benefit makes the most sense. From airports, to police departments, to municipal departments, replacing large fleets of vehicles with efficient electric vehicles can save money for the company and lessen the detrimental impact on the environment in a big way.
Source: Edmunds Green Car Advisor
