Your next trip to the slammer may be a breath of fresh air as first US prisoner transport EV rolls out

Going to prison is never good, but your next trip may be a breath of fresh air as the first electric prisoner transport EV rolls out in Cobb County, Georgia.

The first fully electric prisoner transport deployed

You heard that right. Prisoners will now breathe zero-emission air on their way to prison with a new fully electric prisoner transport vehicle.

The Cobb County Sheriff’s Office says the new transport EVs can carry prisoners up to 200 miles on a full charge. The electric van is a 2022 Envirotech Cutaway/Logistics Van with a “Prisoner Transport Upfit,” the first in the United States, according to the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office.

The EVT Logistics van has a top speed of 62 mph and 102 kWh battery capacity, as described on the company’s website.

With 399 cubic feet of cargo room (high roof model), the electric van is fit for a prisoner transport vehicle. Other than that, the features are relatively standard, like power windows, keyless entry, and AC – the basics.

Al Curtis, Fleet Director for Cobb County Fleet Management, explains how introducing electric models can reduce costs, stating:

The Cobb County Sheriff’s Office and Fleet Management is committed to being good stewards of our citizens and our environment. We constantly strive to reduce operating cost, reduce cost per mile and the County’s carbon footprint.

Cobb County Sheriff’s Office announced the electric prisoner transport vehicle along with a new Ford Mustang Mach-E. According to Cobb County’s website, its fleet consists of 1002 cars, 863 trucks, 45 motorcycles, 29 EVs, four electric motorcycles, and now one EV prisoner transport van.

Electrek’s Take

I think it’s great Cobb County will be transporting its prisoners in an electric vehicle to cut costs and reduce emissions. I’m all for EV adoption.

Maybe school districts should take note that Cobb County is transporting prisoners in zero-emission, clean EVs. Meanwhile, kids in many school districts are still breathing diesel-fueled exhaust from outdated big yellow buses.

Only 38 US states have committed to electric school buses so far as of September, according to the World Resource Institute’s EV school bus tracker. There are roughly 500,000 school buses in the United States but only 12,700 commitments – fewer than 3% of total buses – to go electric.

Good for Cobb County for taking steps, even if it’s only one to start, toward zero-emission. Now it’s time for state and school district leaders to step up and do the same with school buses.

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