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Although use of electric vehicles may become more prominent, initial procurement and <br /> utilization has presented some concerns: <br /> • Of five EV vehicles purchased in 2012; only one remains in use. <br /> • Lack of commonality makes pre-stocking spares impractical. Existing <br /> maintenance staff will need special training, equipment and job reclassifications. <br /> Planning for and stocking replacement batteries will be difficult and expensive. <br /> Replacement batteries,which differ by electronic vehicle(EV)model, cost about <br /> $8,000, shipping costs are roughly$4,000 once vehicle warranties (normally five <br /> years) expire and take six weeks to arrive once ordered.No State disposal system <br /> exists. <br /> • Purchasing extended warranties directly from manufacturers at time of purchase <br /> would be more cost-effective. <br /> • There are not enough charging stations, and many existing ones do not work. <br /> Overnight charging required. Heavy corrosion on island affects batteries, EV <br /> charging stations (more and widely dispersed stations needed). <br /> • HPD has doubts that EVs are not large enough, too expensive, and do not have <br /> enough range prior to needing to be charged. <br /> • County should avoid prototype testing and costs of EV,hydrogen, and other new <br /> technology, purchasing and evaluating only proven vehicles. <br /> • Leasing advantages -controllable costs, vendors would do maintenance,no <br /> stocking of expense parts,no disposal concerns, easier and more flexible/timely <br /> acquisition of replacements. <br /> The county automotive repair garage is in Captain Cook,but 60 to 70 of our street legal fleet is at <br /> the West Hawai`i Civic Center. Any time a car needs a safety check, someone needs to drive the <br /> vehicle from the Civic Center to Captain Cook and back.That is a trip of 40 minutes one way. It <br /> is even more time consuming if the car needs servicing since two people have to go (one to drive <br /> up there, and one to drive the other car back). Safety check trips could be eliminated by having <br /> one person come down from Captain Cook once a month to safety check all cars that are due. If a <br /> car needs some kind of minor repair such as a burned out bulb, then they can come down the <br /> next day to replace it and issue the safety check. Saves gas and time and lost productivity. <br /> 19 <br /> 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report <br />