NYC Volt Sanitation Fleet

[Smidge204]

I was doing some work at a vehicle garage for the NYC Department of Sanitation and found this thing just sitting on the floor:

:lol:

I've come across two so far, and I suspect there's at least one at each of their facilities. Municipal fleets have always been a good fit for hybrids so I was glad to see them among the many Priuses and Escape hybrids. For the curious, they have Chargepoint L2 EVSEs installed.

If I encounter more in my travels this week I'll see if there's anyone around to ask how they like it, how much driving they typically do and if they'd consider getting any BEVs.

Anyone else know of any fleet Volts on the road?
=Smidge=

 

[garygid]

Nice find and picture.

 

[redLEAF]

The Volt guys may take an exception to your comment but it's interesting that the sanitation dept. got theirs first (assuming other dept's may have as well but this one was the first you discovered); would assume it's a supervisor's car. I wonder how many Volt's are getting put to use in government?

 

[Smidge204]

Deliberately provocative thread title, but I think it's clear from the post itself that it's tongue-in-cheek?

The Volt guys may take an exception to your comment but it's interesting that the sanitation dept. got theirs first (assuming other dept's may have as well but this one was the first you discovered); would assume it's a supervisor's car. I wonder how many Volt's are getting put to use in government?

I've been to four facilities since early last December, and this is the second Volt I noticed. Granted, Voltspotting is not what I'm there to do, and it was probably luck that the car was there when I was. I may have missed them at the other locations, or they may be very recent additions. I'm guestimating there's like a dozen Volts in service by the DSNY (roughly one per facility).
=Smidge=

 

[TomT]

Actually, I love the "The Volt is trash" title! Very creative!

However, a title more like "The Volt is used in Fleets" might be better?

 

[garygid]

Good title change.

 

[Smidge204]

Dunno who changed that, but I disagree with their sense of humor! Provocation potential is down a shocking 900%!

How about "Volt found at landfill (where it belongs!)" since the pic was taken at the Fresh Kills landfill site? :lol:
=Smidge=

 

[NYLEAF]

I'm fairly certain I saw a Volt on the Grand Central Parkway a few weeks ago that belonged to the Parks Department or something similar. It was in black, with some lettering that I obviously didn't pay much attention to...

The NYPD also has a bunch of Prius police cars for the Traffic division.

Edit: A quick google search found a pic of the car I saw on the GCP. http://www.flickr.com/photos/jag9889/6329233876/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And here's a typical NYPD Prius http://www.flickr.com/photos/blue387/4076949268/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[Smidge204]

Found another today, this time in a Brooklyn facility. It was covered in pigeon poop!

I'm noticing these vehicles are rarely plugged in. That's 2/3 I've seen unplugged... kinda defeats the purpose IMHO.

The NYPD also has a bunch of Prius police cars for the Traffic division.

Municipal fleets are rife with Priususususes. When you're spending tens of thousands of dollars a month on gasoline, cutting your usage roughly in half (buying a new Toyota Prius instead of another Ford Taurus) makes a whole lotta sense.
=Smidge=

 

[Smidge204]

And some more. I noticed that they're rarely plugged in, and the two I found that were, were not charging. Wonder what's up with that?

This one was kind of funny: There was a Ford Taurus parked in the only spot the installed charger could reach so this was parked on the opposite side of the garage - even official Volts get their parking spots ICE'd!

Here's a photo of one of the charge stations, attached to the last photo above. Display reads "Vehicle not ready. Tap card to end."

The Volt also has what looks like two lights on the dash similar to the three charging status lights the Leaf has. The one on the driver's side was blinking slowly. Anyone know what that means?
=Smidge=

 

[NYLEAF]

I was driving on Queens Boulevard this morning and spotted a NYC Dept of Sanitation Leaf! I managed to grab a picture on my phone.

From the wheels, it appears to be a 2013 S model, which makes sense for a fleet vehicle.

 

[TomT]

Except if they plan to use them in winter...

From the wheels, it appears to be a 2013 S model, which makes sense for a fleet vehicle.

 

[NYLEAF]

My guess is that their daily driving requirements fall well within the Leaf's range, even when you take the lack of a heat-pump into account.

I just noticed that the car appears to have a rear-view camera, which would indicate that it has the Charge package. I wonder if they are planning on installing a QC for the fleet to use. The City already owns QCs for the Leaf Taxi fleet.

 

[Smidge204]

Ooh, that's interesting!

As it turns out, we're getting some more work with the DSNY that might require more visits... if I end up getting involved again I'll keep an eye peeled and try to take photos.

What's the over/under on stumbling across a Model S? :lol:
=Smidge=

 

[ksnogas2112]

Awesome!

Westar Electric (KS electric coop) does ev'stoo. They have a fleet of Volts they use and put 220 charging at all their locations in the state. They even picked up a few FFE's and a Leaf or two.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

How long does the average fleet keep a vehicle?

Would a former fleet EV make a good used car?