By Steven Symes 
Boston is hardly the first city to buy up a bunch of Ford Mach-E all-electric crossovers, but like elsewhere some citizens have a real problem with what they believe is lavish spending. After all, the city reportedly dropped half a million dollars on the EVs while recently hiking property taxes. It’s not a good look as city employees are rolling hard in what you could argue is a luxury vehicle.
In the meantime, the Ford Mach-E is under federal investigation.
A recent report from the Boston Herald sheds light on this interesting fiscal situation. For example, while property taxes were hiked 10.5 percent by the city, the new Mach-Es cost about $50,000-$55,000 each. We’ve seen other cities try arguing that’s a steal for an electric car, but a quick Google search alone will prove that wrong.
There are many other EVs you can get for less as a consumer, let alone a city buying for a fleet. For example, the report says while Boston bought nine Ford Mach-E crossovers, it purchased six Chevy Equinox EVs for about $38,000 each. That’s a big difference in price.
Of course, the city of Boston is justifying the EVs as a way to combat climate change, replacing old gas-powered rides and “reducing the carbon footprint” of the municipality.
In the meantime, Mayor Wu has apparently characterized proposals to slash the city’s budget as “fiscally irresponsible.” Apparently the argument is there’s just nothing left to cut. We’re pretty sure Mitsubishi Mirages instead of EVs would drop spending by a good chunk.
One of the things residents are openly wondering about is how much it will cost not only to buy the Mach-Es but to keep them running, including replacing the batteries down the road. And they’re wondering why the government didn’t just buy the Chevy Equinoxes, since those cost so much less. It’s a valid question.
But like we said before, other cities have been grabbing up Ford Mach-Es we suspect because they look cool and are fun to drive. After all, it’s only taxpayer dollars and apparently that’s a good use of them.
Image via Ford