South Pasadena Police Department Replaces Entire Fleet with Electric Vehicles

The South Pasadena Police Department (SPPD) has announced that it is the only law enforcement agency in the United States to transition its entire fleet to electric vehicles. The department has installed the necessary charging infrastructure to support this change.

All 20 Tesla vehicles in the police fleet can now be charged at the 34 EV chargers installed at South Pasadena City Hall. The capacity of the chargers was not specified, but the department mentioned that “under its Charge Ready program, Southern California Edison upgraded its local distribution system to supply the higher level of power needed to energize the vehicles and installed the underground wiring needed to install the chargers.”

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About a year ago, the SPPD revealed its plan to switch to an all-electric fleet. The department partnered with Enterprise Fleet Management to purchase the electric cars, which include 10 Tesla Model Ys for patrol use and 10 Tesla Model 3s for detective and administrative duties.

“Simply put, the Tesla Model Y we identified as meeting and/or exceeding our needs for patrol operations is safer, out-performs, and costs significantly less to power/fuel & maintain than the gas-powered vehicles we use now,” the department stated on its website.

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The city invested $1.85 million in the transition to electric vehicles, covering the cost of chargers and lease payments. The switch is expected to save approximately $4,000 per vehicle per year in maintenance and fuel costs. Additionally, the city received nearly $500,000 in Clean Transportation Funding from the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee (MSRC), and the work conducted by Southern California Edison under its Charge Ready program is valued at about $530,000.

“This transition reflects the city’s vision of a sustainable future based on both sound fiscal management and environmental stewardship,” said South Pasadena Mayor Evelyn Zneimer. “The City Council is fully behind this transition. We will have a 21st Century police force that is safe, clean and saves taxpayer dollars.”

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“Switching to these vehicles offers the Police Department the opportunity to acquire a cutting-edge vehicle fleet,” said South Pasadena Police Chief Brian Solinsky. “This initiative not only ensures the safest vehicles for officers and staff but also leads to substantial reductions in both fuel and maintenance costs.”