Detective Jason Anderson with electric motorcycles as patrol vehicles.
(Independent Newsmedia/Madeline Bates)
In the name of sustainability, Arizona State University’s police program has added three new patrol vehicles to the fleet.
The vehicles include two Ford Lightning pickup trucks and one Chevy Blaze SUV that were to patrol all four campuses. The vehicles are being borrowed at no cost to the force until the end of the six month trail period. If they choose to keep the vehicles, a lease price will be determined at the end of the trial.
“We have five vehicles in total, including two motorcycles with one not outfitted until we complete the pilot program,” said Detective Jason Anderson with ASU Police.
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In the name of sustainability, Arizona State University’s police program has added three new patrol vehicles to the fleet.
The vehicles include two Ford Lightning pickup trucks and one Chevy Blaze SUV that were to patrol all four campuses. The vehicles are being borrowed at no cost to the force until the end of the six month trail period. If they choose to keep the vehicles, a lease price will be determined at the end of the trial.
“We have five vehicles in total, including two motorcycles with one not outfitted until we complete the pilot program,” said Detective Jason Anderson with ASU Police.
The vehicles aren’t the first electric motors to join the fleet.
In 2020, the school added electric motorcycles after the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety gifted the force over $46,000 in grant funding to purchase two motorcycles.
But the vehicles aren’t permanent yet, Anderson says, as they are being leased for the next six months for the force to be able to determine if cost, function and driving range are both economical and sustainable long term.
The vehicles do not need routine maintenance like gas vehicles do, and should there be a problem, ASU has partnered with various Ford and Chevy dealerships to assist with maintenance and repairs.
Each vehicle can only go around 200 miles, and with over 55 miles from the Polytechnic campus in East Mesa to the West Campus in Glendale, Anderson says that this could pose a problem as the vehicles need to charge at the station on the Tempe campus.
The pickup trucks can also carry one passenger in the backseat, and all patrol vehicles have an automated external defibrillator in the case of a medical emergency.
While Fall semester is normally busier for the officers, Anderson says they look forward to using the vehicles daily and getting familiar with the vehicle’s differences.
“After six months, we’ll evaluate and see what works and what doesn’t before we move forward with something permanent,” Anderson said.
To voice your opinion on this story, connect with us at AzOpinions@iniusa.org.
Madeline Bates joined Independent Newsmedia in 2025 as a Phoenix/Tempe reporter. Before graduating college, she spent a semester in Washington as a Congressional reporter in the first 100 days of the second Trump administration. But local news is where her heart is. She is excited to be in Phoenix full time and exploring new parts of the city (as long as they have AC).
Community: After living in East Phoenix for two years, she fell in love with Paradise Valley, Mesa, Tempe, and everywhere in between. She recently discovered the beauty of the South Mountain Reserve and hopes to continue exploring should the weather comply.
Education: Madeline has a degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and a certificate in Political History and Leadership.
Random Fact: She is a self-taught nail tech. No, she cannot do your nails.
Hobbies: Hiking (when its not 100 degrees), fiction writing, cooking, baking and trying new coffee shops.
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