ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾'s Motor Pool Shop Leader Karl Perkins snagged the truck this summer when it became available at a local dealership. It's the first electric vehicle for the College's security officers, and it's their first pickup truck.
Adam Talbot, assistant director of safety and security, said he was initially leery about investing in a truck with a battery range of 280 to 290 miles. Security officers work around the clock and need to have a reliable vehicle at the ready, he said.
Six months later, Talbot said everyone on his team is pleased. “It’s working really good, it's great,” he said. “Besides the utility of having a truck, it’s a fun vehicle to drive, it’s really fast! It has a low center of gravity and does well in the snow.” Even through the recent cold snap Maine has been having, the battery range has been sufficient.
Security officers had wanted a pickup truck so they could be more efficient with tasks like setting up parking cones and hauling away abandoned bicycles, Talbot said. (They store the bikes for one year and then donate any unclaimed ones.)
When the Ford-150 Lightning became available from Casco Bay Ford in Yarmouth, the College jumped on the opportunity. The new truck joins three Ford Interceptor SUVs, which are standard police vehicles.
Though the electric pickup is handy to have around, it's also in the rotation for regular campus patrols, Talbot said. “Everybody likes driving it,” he said, adding, “And it’s been a mission for the College to go this way.”
The Ford 150 joins a growing number of plug-in vehicles and machinery on campus. ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾ currently has six electric vans—Ford E-Transit Connects—for dining, events, warehouse deliveries, and other services.
Additionaly, staff and faculty can sign out a fully electric Toyota or one of several hybrid vehicles for their work trips (along with the original ten-year-old Chevy Bolt, ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾'s very first electric car!).
As ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾'s gas powered equipment and vehicles reach the end of their lives, they are being replaced with plug-in versions.
So far, the grounds crew has swapped out gas lawnmowers (both riding and push ones), hedge trimmers, string trimmers, snowblowers, leaf blowers, and pole saws with fully electric ones.
