COO announces incentive for UF’s Electric Vehicle Challenge

Charlie Lane, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer

During the University of Florida’s Earth Day celebration in April of 2015, I announced that UF would be adding electric vehicles to its fleet, in addition to existing biodiesel and hybrid vehicles. I also relayed that UF is striving to reach a goal of having 10 percent of its vehicle fleet be composed of electric vehicles within 10 years.

To help us reach, and hopefully exceed our goal, the Office of the Chief Operating Officer is issuing an incentive program beginning Feb. 1, 2018, to encourage the purchase of electric vehicles over traditional gas-powered vehicles.

I am pleased to announce that the COO office will pay for the cost difference of purchasing an approved departmental electric vehicle in place of a gas-powered vehicle over the next three years (beginning Feb. 1, 2018), or until the designated $100,000 budget is depleted. On average, the cost of an electric vehicle based on UF’s current state contract costs $5,000 more than an approved gas-powered vehicle. Following standard UF vehicle procurement guidelines, replacing a traditional vehicle with an electric vehicle requires documentation of retiring a gas-powered vehicle, and adding an additional vehicle to the fleet requires justification and approval from the appropriate dean or vice president.

Electric vehicles come with many advantages over traditional gas-powered vehicles. Because they are not powered by a gasoline engine, they do not require traditional maintenance like oil changes. This cuts down significantly on routine maintenance costs and time. Additionally, since the vehicles do not require gasoline, major savings can be had on fuel costs.

UF is currently in the process of adding 10 new electric vehicle charging stations across campus, capable of charging 20 vehicles at any given time. This additional infrastructure will bring the total number of active charging plugs on campus to 28.

To view the current list of state-approved vehicles, visit http://www.purchasing.ufl.edu/contracts/2016_Approved.pdf.

If you are interested in taking advantage of this incentive, please email Sustainability Director Matthew Williams at miwilliams@ufl.edu for a consultation on which vehicles might best suit your department’s needs and the next steps in the process.

Finally, to learn more about electric vehicles firsthand, I invite each of you to UF’s Sustainable Transportation Fair on Wednesday, Nov. 1, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the northeast corner of the Reitz Union lawn, behind the HUB. The fair provides UF employees and students with opportunities to learn more about sustainable transportation and commuting options, engage with community and campus organizations, and explore the Electric Vehicle Expo where guests can tour various electric vehicles and chat with the owners and drivers about their electric vehicle experiences.

Thank you for your support of our sustainability goals.