New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has signed an executive order mandating New York City to have a 100% electric fleet by 2040.

The executive order directs the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) and NYC Fleet to implement a Clean Fleet Transition Plan and update it every two years. This plan will outline alternative fuel, fuel efficiency, and electrification requirements for all fleet units by type, include a report on electrification and charging options for each class of fleet vehicle, and have a schedule for adoption of cleaner vehicles and technologies that will lead to a fully electric fleet by 2040. This report, aimed at both public and private fleets, will be published by Jan 1, 2021.

NYC Fleet will also implement and update its Safe Fleet Transit Plan every two years, using actual crash trends and outlining safety requirements for all city fleet units. The plan will include options for the private fleets with which the city contracts and regulates to encourage or require them to adopt these safety improvements. This plan will be published by July 1. 

DCAS has an existing Clean Fleet Transition Plan and Safe Fleet Transition Plan; the new plans will go beyond the city fleet to address broader issues affecting private and other public fleets.

“The climate crisis is real and it's urgent, and that’s why the City of New York is taking aggressive steps to transition to an all-electric city fleet by 2040,” Keith Kerman, DCAS deputy commissioner and NYC chief fleet officer, told Government Fleet. “At the same time, DCAS has also been charged by this mayoral order to work with all private, non-profit, and other public fleets that operate in the five boroughs to spur similar transitions to clean and safe fleets of the future.”