Have you ever made a promise you were determined to keep, but weren’t entirely sure how you’d get there?
That was the situation we found ourselves in at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) back in 2018, when we announced that by the end of 2025, half of our light-duty, non-emergency vehicle fleet — the cars and SUVs used by our staff zipping around our airports, seaport, crossings, and other facilities every day — would be electric.
At the time, the pathway to get there was murky. Electric vehicles (EVs) hadn’t caught on yet, and vehicle manufacturers and the technology weren’t mature.
But seven years later, we got there. Through innovation, ingenuity, and a conscious decision to collaborate with our peers across government, we’ve reached that milestone and built a considerably clearer road toward the rest of our fleet sustainability goals in the process, an important piece of our broader commitment to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Overcoming Challenges
Back in 2018, the challenges were immense. American manufacturers hadn’t started widely manufacturing the electric vehicles we needed to meet our needs. Charging infrastructure at our facilities was hard to come by. Planning and training had yet to take place on how electric vehicles might alter the workday.
In the time since, we instituted similar electrification requirements at our airports for equipment like baggage tugs and belt loaders, and at the seaport for the equipment that moves containers, requiring our operational partners to make the move to zero-emission technology as soon as that equipment becomes commercially available, and speeding the process with funding and infrastructure.
‘If you build it, we will come’
The lesson we’ve learned across the board is that we can’t wait for the market to create itself. We, as part of the public sector, needed to send a signal: if you build it, we will come.
Gradually, the market came alive.
American manufacturers such as Ford and GM began producing electric vehicles that met our procurement requirements. Chargers began being installed across our facilities, a massive undertaking that involved procuring, designing, and installing all-new utility infrastructure and equipment.
And our Central Automotive and Office of Sustainability teams hit the road, visiting Port Authority facilities to run hands-on training sessions for hundreds of employees learning to operate vehicles that need longer charging times than the standard five-minute fuel-up. That change affects everything from how you plan a route to how you schedule a shift.
Comparing Notes, Sharing Solutions
We also weren’t figuring this out alone. We’ve compared notes with fleet managers in New York City, Florida, Massachusetts, Quebec, London, and beyond. We even host an annual Fleet Sustainability Expo, planned in partnership with the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services, the Quebec government, the Clean Cities Coalition, and other regional partners, showcasing cutting-edge advances in fleet sustainability.
In most industries, organizations protect their solutions. In government fleet management, the approach is the opposite: if you solve a problem, you share it. That culture helped us move faster than we would have on our own. Not only are we regulars in industry conversations, in many cases, but we’re also leading them.
Marking New Milestones
As of Dec. 31, 2025, 404 of our 797 light-duty non-emergency vehicles are electric, supported by 305 charging ports across our facilities. But even as we mark that milestone, the next chapter is already underway. Our goal is a fully electric light-duty non-emergency fleet by 2028.
The medium- and heavy-duty fleet encompasses a broader range of vehicles than the light-duty non-emergency cohort. Electric garbage trucks are in service at both John F. Kennedy International and LaGuardia airports. Electric sweepers and forklifts are deployed across our facilities. And our police department is currently piloting several electric models. As was the case with the light-duty market seven years ago, the medium- and heavy-duty EV market is still in its early stages. And once again, we’re ready to turbocharge it.
Everything we’ve built since that 2018 promise will serve as a foundation for our coming commitments. The market we helped move once, we will help move again. That’s what following through on a promise looks like, even if you’re not sure at the outset how you’ll end up getting there.
