The Town of Chapel Hill’s municipal fleet is transitioning to electric vehicles even faster than expected in our climate action planning. By using electricity instead of fossil fuels to power the cars, trucks, and buses that serve our community, we are cutting carbon emissions, improving air quality, and reducing fossil fuel dependence. This is because electric vehicles have no tailpipe emissions and run on electricity from a power grid that grows cleaner and more renewable each year. When electric vehicles are unavailable or aren’t yet up to the demands of their role, we still prioritize emission reduction and energy efficiency by purchasing hybrid and E85 vehicles.

Transitioning away from fossil fuels is important because the Town’s vehicle fleet, which includes Chapel Hill Transit, is our largest source of municipal greenhouse gas emissions. It was responsible for 52.5% of the emissions generated by the Town in the most recent GHG emissions inventory in 2021, which is more than all other categories combined. Transitioning to electric vehicles is a simple and impactful way to reduce these emissions, and that is why we plan to electrify all the passenger vehicles and light-to-medium-duty trucks in our fleet by 2040 and all heavy-duty vehicles by 2050. We will also continue adding zero-emission Transit buses and support vehicles in the coming years. While electric vehicles can have a higher initial price tag than petroleum-powered vehicles, we are taking full advantage of all available rebates and incentives to lower these costs. Electric vehicles are also good long-term investments because they have lower fuel, repair, and maintenance costs.

The Town of Chapel Hill is proud of the progress we have made toward our electrification goals, and as of October 2024, nearly 50% of the Town’s fleet vehicles are electric, hybrid, or running on E85 ethanol. Nearly 40% of Transit buses and support vehicles are either electric or hybrid as well. We’re excited to continue transitioning to a greener, cleaner fleet and we look forward to adding a grant-funded electric garbage truck later this year and seven more electric Transit buses in late 2025. You can learn more about fleet electrification in the Town of Chapel Hill’s Climate Action and Response Plan, and the Drive Electric USA website also has a special feature on Transit’s electrification efforts.