BANGOR, Maine — Northern Light Pharmacy has committed to going a little greener, announcing a fleet of electric cars for its delivery service.
Leased by Quirk Auto, four Chevy Bolt EUV's are being used throughout locations in Maine, with an additional car on the way for this January.
Retail Business Manager Brian Raymond said the goal is to better align with the health organization's climate health initiative.
"Our leases were coming due this fall, and we were looking for opportunities on ways we could lower our carbon footprint," Raymond said.
The Bangor location delivers around 700 prescriptions to the greater area weekly. According to the pharmacy, with the five new cars, the team expects to save around $6,000 annually, which translates to around $30,000 over a span of five years.
As for emissions, Raymond said the switch is a reduction of about four metric tons of carbon emissions annually.
Delivery Manager Michael Bryson said with the 40 or so deliveries he runs a day, the ride has been pretty smooth.
"When Brian came to me and told me we were going to go electric I was like, yeah, excited," Bryson said. "There's no problems; I haven't had any problems. And all the drivers feel the same way too, we really like them."
With range anxiety on the forefront of many folks, especially for those living in rural areas, Raymond said the pharmacy hasn't come across any problems, however, the team oftentimes doesn't reach the maximum amount of miles the cars can handle.
"We drive maybe 40, 50 miles a day. These vehicles can do about 250. During the winter, we have seen a decline in the amount of range it'll do, but it's still not an issue," Raymond said.