COVINGTON, Ky. (WKRC) – Covington is taking electric vehicles for a test drive as the city begins a pilot program to add EVs to its fleet, replacing existing vehicles that are due to be retired.
“These cars are actually replacing existing cars in the fleet, so there’s not going to be an extra car purchased. It’s time for cars to retire, and now we need to see if this is the best alternative for our city: going to electric vehicles. This is what the pilot program is,” Covington Mayor Ron Washington said.
Covington is taking electric vehicles for a test drive as the city begins a pilot program to add EVs to its fleet, replacing existing vehicles that are due to be retired. (WKRC, Provided)
An analysis produced for the City Commission says Covington could save $23,000 in fuel and maintenance by switching. Those numbers were presented in February, just before the U.S. went to war with Iran, driving gas prices to almost-record highs.
Washington said maintenance savings are a major benefit of EVs.
“There’s no such thing as oil changes. The only fluid that’s involved with the vehicle is the windshield wiper fluid, things like that. Now, on the other side, there is a little heavier use on tires because the vehicles are heavier, so we have to weigh that,” Washington said.
EVs have been on Northern Kentucky roads for some time. Newport has purchased Model 3 and Model Y Teslas, and Covington’s vehicles are expected to look similar.
Washington said the vehicles are tailored to city departments, with Teslas planned for police, Chevy Silverados for firefighters, and smaller Chevy Equinoxes for code enforcement. He also said the city has already installed chargers as EVs have become more common.
“You know, we have staff members that drive electric vehicles. When you’re out and about in our city, you see all types of electric vehicles. We’re proud to say that we have charging stations in many of our garages,” Washington said. “This city doesn’t have a luxury to speculate, so we have to kind of meet the demand as we’re seeing it.”
The Covington City Commission will vote on approving most of the vehicles on Tuesday.