Replacing the roughly 900,000 gas-guzzling light-duty automobiles in state and local government fleets with electric vehicles over the next decade could save U.S. taxpayers nearly $11 billion in lifetime expenses while reducing pollution and planet-heating emissions, according to a recent report.
According to the report, the biggest savings—more than $8.5 billion—would be on fuel costs, followed by nearly $6.9 billion saved on maintenance, over $3.5 billion in depreciation costs, and $1.1 billion on insurance. Greenhouse gas emissions would plummet by nearly 26 billion tons, a 63% drop compared with a scenario in which state and local governments purchase fossil-fueled vehicles to replace their old ones.