This week, the New York Police Department debuted the first of its new fleet of nine 8-foot-long smart cars, bought to begin replacing its aging fleet of parking enforcement scooters.
The smart cars were purchased for a total price tag of $119,000 and feature the comfort of air conditioning and the safety of air bags, both of which the aging three-wheeled scooters lack.
The NYPD also says that the new Smart Fortwo vehicles made by Daimler AG are far better than the old scooters.
“Actually, in many instances they are more maneuverable than the scooters,” NYPD Police Commissioner Bill Bratton told the New York Daily News. “They’re also cheaper, interesting enough.”
The department noted that the smart cars are about half the price of the scooters.
Amusingly, the commish also called them “midget cars.”
Thus far, only one has been put to use plying the paths of Central Park, but some of the other nine are scheduled for use in the Big Apple’s traffic and school safety districts.
The department wants to buy 100 more of the little cars over the next few years.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.
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