SEATTLE, Wash. — An environmental organization says Bellingham and Whatcom County along with other governments aren’t living up to a state law requiring them to electrify their vehicle fleets.
Coltura says a law passed by the legislature in 2007 required governments from the state on down to have all-electric vehicle fleets (where practical) by the first of this month.
None of the cities or other governments the group studied have even come close.
Matthew Metz with Coltura says Bellingham only has one electric vehicle in a fleet of 287, while Whatcom County doesn’t have any.
He says there are a number of reasons governments aren’t following the law, mainly because of inertia and difficulty adapting to the new technology. “A lot of the fleet managers are people who are diesel mechanics, people who worked their way up with gas and diesel engines, and really don’t understand how to use the technology very well,” he says.
And he says electric vehicles cost more up front but bring savings over time.
There isn’t any penalty built into the law so the state hasn’t been enforcing it.
Metz says they hope more governments will start to comply with the law as they’d like to see the U.S. be gasoline-free by 2040.