Photo: Town of Bridgewater (via CKBW)
The Town Council in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, up in Canada, has approved plans to purchase an electric police car, following suit in a wave of police departments in North America moving to electrify their fleets.
The Bridgewater Police Department will purchase a Tesla Model 3 for use as a police cruiser, according to CKBW.
I’m pretty excited that @TownBridgewater council agreed last night to purchase a @Tesla police car, one of the first in Atlantic Canada! Our data shows that this will cost less over its life than a conventional one. The future is green! Note:Photo is not our car but a stock photo pic.twitter.com/fizQRzM9rO
— Mayor David Mitchell (He/Him) (@MayorMitchellNS) February 15, 2022
The decision came after Mayor David Mitchell determined the town could save around $5,000 a year compared to a gas vehicle.
Mitchell said, “We looked at communities with similar climates to ours that have made the switch to EV patrol cars and they report annual savings of around $5,000 in addition to EVs lasting a few years longer than their gas counterparts.”
Part of the town’s decision to go with the Model 3 was simply because it was the only Tesla vehicle they could have delivered in a reasonable timeframe.
The Model 3 has not yet been ordered, but the town has approved a price of $143,000 to purchase two police cruisers — one of which is the Model 3.
While the Model 3 will cost $15,000 more outright than a gas vehicle, the department expects to save $25,000 if the vehicle operates for five years.
Peel Police in Ontario, Canada were also considering upgrading to a Tesla vehicle for one of its cruisers, along with a handful of other departments across North America that already have or are considering going electric.
