New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio signed an executive order to reduce the size of the city’s on-road vehicle fleet, deepening its commitment to address climate change and reduce emissions 80% by 2050. The city will eliminate least 1,000 vehicles from its fleet by June 2021. The order will also reduce the number of take-home vehicles by at least 500 vehicles, curtail the reliance of SUVs in the fleet, and promote greater vehicle efficiency by using advanced data collection.

With the order, the city estimates 10 million fewer miles will be driven by city vehicles each year, resulting in reduced congestion, cutting annual fuel consumption by 500,000 gallons, and decreasing annual emissions by 6,300 metric tons of CO2. The city’s fleet currently has 25,690 on-road vehicles.

“Sustainability isn’t about maintaining the status quo, it’s about changing the way we live and get around,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “Eliminating unnecessary vehicles from our streets and replacing gas-guzzling SUVs with electric cars will bring us one step closer to our carbon emission reduction goals, which means a cleaner New York City for all.”

This executive order is based on a data-driven approach. The city will review every agency’s fleet to ensure its vehicles are being used efficiently and will reduce the fleet size as needed. The city will increase its goal for daily vehicle usage rate from 67% to 80%. This means at least 80% of the city’s fleet should be used daily, except for certain emergency, specialized, or seasonal vehicles.

The Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) will also review every take-home car currently in the fleet and use vehicle data to identify usage patterns. Take-home vehicles that are underused will be re-assigned to the agency’s fleet pool.

The executive order will also direct DCAS to replace at least 250 SUVs with electric plug-in sedans.

New York City currently operates more than 1,750 on-road electric vehicles and a network of more than 568 electric vehicle charging stations, including 65 solar-powered chargers. The fleet is using renewable diesel, has ordered its first 190 hybrid pursuit-rated police vehicles, and light-duty fleet vehicles purchased during the most recent fiscal year achieved an average fuel economy equivalent of 100 MPG.