Hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) and electric vehicles (EV) offer promise to reduce greenhouse gasses and toxic air pollutants. The overall goal is to eliminate unnecessary vehicles and purchase and use the most cost-effective and lowest emission vehicle or equipment possible. First, the municipality should collect data to measure the impact of their current fleets. This should include an inventory of vehicles (type, number) and type and amount of fuel they each use. Once inventoried, the municipality should:
- “Right size” vehicle fleets by downsizing and eliminating vehicles
- Optimize vehicle travel, operation and maintenance
- Substitute other travel modes, or reduce the need to travel
- Address emissions of conventionally fueled vehicles
- Adopt a comprehensive fleet policy
- Purchase fuel efficient, alternatively fueled and increasingly electric vehicles
Proposed procurement goals:
- City with a fleet comprising at least 20 vehicles shall develop and annually update a zero-emission fleet strategy that shall include optimizing fleet size and composition; deploying zero-emission vehicle refueling infrastructure; and maximizing acquisition and deployment of zero-emission light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicles where one or more zero-emission vehicle options for that vehicle class. US Federal Government 2021 Executive Order on Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability
- Adopt 100 percent zero-emission vehicle acquisitions by 2035, including 100 percent zero-emission light-duty vehicle acquisitions by 2027; in addition, 50% of heavy and medium-duty vehicle acquisitions should be electric by 2030. US Federal Government 2021 Executive Order on Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability
- Install EV charging infrastructure at all municipal buildings and parking lots by 2023
- Track fleet average fuel economy and show steady increase for each Service Unit–use miles per gallon (mpg) and fuel type (e.g., electric) as critical purchase criteria
- Track and reduce vehicle size, weight, and other factors affecting fuel use where possible
- Track and optimize vehicle miles traveled (VMT)–route optimization, trip elimination, shared utilization, vehicle tracking technology solutions (e.g., telematics)
- Optimize programs, incentives, and technology to encourage trip bundling, video conferencing, carpooling, vehicle sharing, mass transit, non-motorized commuting, work from home
- Phase in bike, e-bike, foot or horseback modes for police, inspectors and other municipal staff
- Retrofit municipal diesel engines or have auxiliary power units and/or electrified parking spaces installed, using Project GreenFleet or similar
- Electrify port equipment, vehicles, and boats and install charging infrastructure in ports
Public policy:
- Incentivize installation of EV infrastructure in low-income neighborhoods, and communities of color and adopt policies helping low-income communities access EVs
- Require all new school buses to be electric vehicles
- For existing school buses, require school bus fleets to optimize routes, start times, boundaries, vehicle efficiency and fuels, and driver actions to cut costs including idling reduction.
- Adopt policies to help students transition from school buses to walking, biking and municipal transit, where appropriate, and track and document this change
- Pass and implement an Electric Vehicle Readiness Ordinance to accelerate a transition to EV vehicles
- Develop program with the goal of 35% of households owning EV’s by 2025
- Adopt and implement other relevant model policies to accelerate electric vehicle adoption
Case studies and resources:
- Sierra Club, Plug In America, FORTH, and the Electrification Coalition, AchiEVe: Model Policies to Accelerate Electric Vehicle Adoption
- 15 states from across the nation and the District of Columbia committed to zero-out toxic air pollution from new medium- and heavy-duty truck and bus sales by 2050. The memorandum of understanding (MOU), signed by a diverse mix of states that includes California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington, as well as the District of Columbia, agreed to work collaboratively to move from dirty fossil fuel trucks towards zero-emission electric vehicles.
- The Climate Mayors Electric Vehicle Purchasing Collaborative is a cooperative project of mayors' cities across the country to leverage their collective buying power and accelerate the conversion of public fleets to EVs–sending a powerful signal to the global auto market and helping the United States maintain its commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement. It is a one-stop, online procurement portal providing U.S. cities, counties, courts, school districts, state governments, and public universities equal access to competitively bid EVs and charging infrastructure, innovative financing options, and best practices and other forms of expertise.
- Fort Collins, CO: The city developed an Electric Vehicle (EV) Readiness Roadmap to support current and future EV adoption in our community. The Roadmap establishes a vision, goals, and clearly defined roles for City of Fort Collins Departments, the private sector, and the Fort Collins community.
- Sacramento, CA’s Electric Vehicle Strategy 2-Year Progress Report: The City’s EV Strategy is a bold plan to advance zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) adoption through charging infrastructure access, partnerships, affordability, innovation, and workforce development. The EV Strategy established overarching zero-emission transportation goals, key performance targets, and an implementation plan with actions to be initiated by 2020 and fully implemented by 2025.
- Columbus OH’s EV program is part of Smart Columbus--a region-wide Smart City initiative co-lead by the City of Columbus and the Columbus Partnership.
- Ann Arbor, MI’s Green Fleets Policy reduces both fuel use and emissions of the municipal operations through more intelligent use and purchase of vehicles and fuel-using equipment. The Green Fleets policy was designed to stimulate programmatic efforts to reduce the impact of fossil fuel use on public health, the environment, and cost of City operations. In June of 2017 City Council passed a resolution updating the Green Fleets Policy, emphasizing vehicle/equipment electrification.