The City of Thunder Bay is adding electric vehicles to its fleet, with the first zero-emission pickup trucks being unveiled today.

Two Ford Lightning pickups will be added to the light vehicle fleet. The fully electric trucks are emission-free, and will reduce carbon emissions by approximately 25 tonnes of CO2 annually. The two pickups will be used by the Transit division, and will be used for road patrols, inspections, and supporting transit operations.

“These two pickups will be on the road daily and will operate as a regular part of our fleet,” said Doug Glena, Manager – Fleet Services.

“We look forward to seeing how these trucks compare to our traditional gas-powered pickups. These trucks will be closely monitored for their performance, and how they work in our day-to-day operations.”

The two electric trucks will replace two gas fueled half ton trucks as part of the City’s regular fleet renewal. Each gas-powered pickup uses about 5,400 litres of fuel per year.

Prior to the trucks being introduced to the fleet, electrical work was completed and two level two chargers were installed at the transit garage on Fort William Road.

Additional electric vehicles will be added to the City’s fleet of 154 light-duty vehicles in the future. The City continues to move toward net-zero emissions by 2050 as part of the Corporate Energy Management Plan for Greening the Fleet as well as the Net-Zero Strategy.