Tag: electric vehicle

electric vehicles, gofleet, range anxiety, fleet

Electric Or Gas-Powered Vehicles: Which One Does Your Fleet Need?

Posted on | by Alexis | Leave a Comment on Electric Or Gas-Powered Vehicles: Which One Does Your Fleet Need?

When you think of electric vehicles (EVs), what immediately comes to mind? Very likely you’re thinking about those tiny little cars and even tinier parking spaces outfitted with charging stations. But did you know that modern EV’s come in all shapes and sizes? Auto companies are constantly coming up with innovative ways to “electrify” large trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles, and there’s never been a better time to plug in.

Many major auto manufacturers, including Ford and Rivian, are rolling out electric commercial vehicles, and because they’re only likely to become more common than less, there are a number of things to consider when deciding whether or not to make the switch from gas to electric trucks for your fleet.

EV or Gas-Powered?

There’s never been a better time than now to start thinking about adding EVs to your fleet. There are pros and cons to early adoption of electric trucks, including business needs, vehicle requirements and resources to support both EVs and gas-powered vehicles. 

Pro #1: Saving Money

Compensation can be a big incentive for fleet managers who are on the fence about making the switch to electric vehicles. According to Environment Canada, the transportation, oil and gas sectors were the largest emission producers in Canada, accounting for 52% of total emissions in 2019.

The Canadian Government introduced the Green Freight Assessment Program (GFAP) in 2018, in order to help fleets reduce fuel costs and emissions over the next four years. The GFAP applies to medium and heavy duty vehicle fleets who are considering purchasing alternative fuel vehicles; those who invest in retrofit or low-emission vehicles can receive up to $100,000 from GFAP.

Pro #2: Cutting Costs

EVs are four times more efficient than internal combustion engines, which means you save money on fuel. Furthermore, electric vehicles have fewer equipment needs; they don’t require spark plugs or oil changes, which translates to less time and money spent on maintenance. 

Pro #3: The future is electric

The future is electric, and battery intelligence optimization is a key element to unlocking its potential. Not only does the future of electric trucks speak to a more eco-friendly future, but it also has the capabilities for stronger, faster and tougher vehicles. As fleets look ahead, national policy is going to change around zero-emission targets. For example, the U.K. is introducing a ban on petrol and diesel cars in 2035. If you don’t want to be left behind, now might be the time to consider adopting EV vehicles into your fleet. Electric trucks might not yet have the capacity for long-distance travel, simply due to the shortage of EV charging stations, but in the meantime, EVs are a great choice for local routes, and can make a big impact with short-distance travel. 

What to consider 

Although EVs represent a roadmap to eco-conscious trucking and huge fuel savings, There are several hurdles that remain before their adoption is widespread.

#1: EVs Are Expensive

New technology is expensive. For example, the 2021 Rivian R1T, one of the first all-electric trucks to hit the market, starts at $69,000 US — more than double the price of a 2020 combustion-powered Ford 150.

#2: There’s Not A Lot Of Data — Yet

Currently, EVs are lim­ited to specific applications that are well-suited to the technology; there will be many questions about their capabilities until such time as they can log significant travel time in real-world trucking operations.

#3 Range Anxiety

Route distance and road range can be an issue without infrastructure, leading to “range anxiety”; the fear that a vehicle won’t make it to its destination before getting to a charging station. The higher the speed, the more energy EVs require — most experts recommend that EV drivers keep their speed under 100 km to maintain battery life. 

In addition, EVs don’t perform well in the cold. Using the vehicle’s heating system in cold weather can drain the battery, leaving its range cut by more than 40%. If your electric commercial truck is loaded up with cargo, you will now have to consider how the additional weight could affect power, which might require more EV charging stations along regular routes.

Vehicle manufacturers are still trying to figure out range solutions for longer trips, including larger batteries that may have capacity to hold more electricity. For example, Rivian announced vehicle-to-vehicle charging, meaning drivers can charge their EVs with another one’s leftover juice. Even further down the road, there’s a city in Sweden that will soon install real-life “electric roads” that allow you to charge your EV while you drive.

Considering EVs? Consider GoFleet

It’s important to know your company intrinsically; what makes it tick, its size, scope, purpose, key stakeholders, what kinds of routes your vehicles take, and what kind of vehicles you already have so you can determine what you need. Can your company afford to invest in a complete overhaul of a brand-new fleet of electric vehicles? Probably not. If you start to gradually import new EVs, will your existing combustion-engine fleet suffer? How gradually should new vehicles be incorporated? As you start the process of adding EVs to your roster, GoFleet can help you make the transition as seamless as possible.

Manage and Support your EV fleet

With GoFleet, fleet managers can stay on top of planning, scheduling, and completing service tasks with real-time updates and reporting. Review the fuel and EV energy usage for your fleet, allowing insights for electric range and performance of your vehicles. Reports could also be used to maximize and identify if any of your PHEVs are running solely on gas.

We’ll provide support across your entire EV fleet; If your drivers have smart devices, no additional hardware is required. Just install the gps tracking app on their phones and start running vehicles with more efficiency.

Visibility On Fuel And EV Energy Usage

We’ll supply a complete charging history of your EVs, showing you when and where the vehicles are charging, the length of time the vehicles were charging at a specific location, and how much of a charge they received. Our EV Charge Assurance provides a comprehensive view into the charging status of all your fleet’s electric vehicles.

In addition, you’ll receive alerts and notifications, such as when battery levels of a vehicle reach critical levels while on the road and the battery needs to be charged. Remind your drivers when it’s time to plug in and prioritize charging order for your vehicles

The GoFleet Solution

Although diesel will likely remain many fleets’ primary fuel for the immediate future, especially for longer, more complex routes, the introduction of EVs represent the industry’s first steps toward a future beyond the internal combustion engine and a massive industry shift.

There seems to be a fast and furious race to the finish line to see who can bring EVs to market first, whereas the focus should be on smart, scalable implementation. Regardless of whether you choose an EV or gas-powered fleet, GoFleet offers comprehensive solutions designed specifically for your business requirements. We’ll help you determine what to look for based on your fleet’s needs; whether you’re transitioning to an entirely electric fleet or plan to retain gas-powered vehicles as well. We’ll help you strategize and plan for your fleet’s future, all while saving you time, money and resources. Contact one of our specialists today!

GoFleet’s Yearly Review: Taking a Look at 2020 and 2021

Posted on | by Victoria Gole | Leave a Comment on GoFleet’s Yearly Review: Taking a Look at 2020 and 2021

This past year has been like no other. Over the course of the last 12 months our organization not only had to change the way we operate as a result of the pandemic, but we learned new ways in which we could help our customers who came to us with new and changing needs. With that being said, we believe it was critical to self-reflect on this year and share our findings with a yearly review. 

How Did GoFleet Grow as an Organization as a Result of the Pandemic? 

As an organization, we felt the impact of the pandemic as our customers and their businesses were directly affected. A positive result that arose was that we were able to connect with our customers more on a personal level to help them navigate the uncertain events that were happening. In fact, it made us appreciate the relationships that we formed with our customers and appreciate even more the work that they do on a daily basis. 

To help, we not only reflected on our business offerings and tried to help with cost-savings incentives to our customers, but we searched for more solutions that would better fit their unique needs and budgets at this time. 

As we are focused on building long-term relationships, this is something we are doing and will continue to do. 

What was GoFleet’s Goal in 2020 and what will be GoFleet’s Goal In 2021? 

At the beginning of 2020, GoFleet created a roadmap and listed various goals that we thought was important to work towards throughout the next 365 days. More specifically, we wanted to focus on sharing how Managed Services can help our customers not only improve their operations but save them time and money. In addition, we aimed to begin to network with OEM dealers while also being leaner as a company. With the course of the events that took place in 2020, it only encouraged us even more to reach those goals and remain successful. 

In 2021, we are excited to continue to grow our OEM Sales Program and our connections as we see this to be a valuable position not only for our company, but our customers as well. With such a program available, we can better help more fleets at the beginning of their journeys. In addition, we are looking to continue to further the expansion of Managed Services to non-traditional telematics services and data consulting as we are seeing positive possibilities from being Zenduit-powered.  

What Trends do you see Coming for Fleets in 2021? 

This year we believe that there are various trends that fleets must prepare for to remain successful. Below we list the trends and/or focuses that we anticipate: 

∙ More Electric Vehicle (EV) oriented insights and analysis as EV technology is advancing and zero emission regulations are discussed and put into place.

∙ OEM data integrations growing in popularity in comparison to aftermarket hardware integrations. 

∙ More car sharing and fleet pooling which leverage iox-keyless and sharing strategies to reduce the number of vehicles that a fleet has by using mobility apps to order and manage on demand.

 

A Quick Review: What did GoFleet do in 2020? 

A lot happened in 2020, keep reading to learn more about what happened! 

 

How Our Organization Changed: 

∙ We started working remotely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure staff safety.

∙ We continued to work and adjust our approach to customer success.

 

How Our Offerings Changed:

∙ We partnered with Samsara to better help fleets.

∙ We leveraged Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) to improve safety in all fleets.

∙ We focused on promoting responder-to-vehicle (R2V) communication to improve public and first responder safety 

∙ We added a new support add-in on MyGeotab.

∙ We partnered with Drivewyze to help fleets improve efficiency.

∙ We launched GoFleet Health Check to help fleets digitally monitor the health status and potential symptoms of drivers.

 

A Few Customers We Helped: 

∙ We helped CR&R Environmental Services improve training and driver behaviour with the installation of ZenduCAM devices. 

∙ We helped DeCarolis Truck Leasing and Rental improve visibility, reporting, data collection, maintenance scheduling and more with Geotabs and Flex trackers.

∙ We helped Speedy Transport Group Inc lower unnecessary fuel consumption and increase overall productivity with the Geotab Drive app.

∙ We helped Forest Trotter with trailer made solutions to improve data collection and visibility. 

∙ We helped Rogue Transportation Inc avoid strains on work processes by leveraging new integrations. 

A lot happened in 2020 making it a year like no other. While our team was able to accomplish a lot, we want to take a moment to thank all of our customers and supporters. 

We are looking forward to what 2021 has to offer and how we can continue to not only help fleets in various industries improve their operations and save costs, but how we can drive change in the sector! 

Electric bus fleet

An Electric Bus Fleet: Going From 0 to 16,000 Electric Buses In A Decade

Posted on | by Alan | Leave a Comment on An Electric Bus Fleet: Going From 0 to 16,000 Electric Buses In A Decade

Across the globe, municipalities took the initiatives of shaping a greener urban future by quickly advancing and accelerating the bus fleet electrification process. Some cities have recognized the benefits of adopting electric buses in the very early stage of development. We are going to take a look at one city that leads the way in the bus fleet electrification field and explore how it accomplished this complex task. 

Looking for more information about why fleets are looking at adopting greener technologies? Read the first part of this article here. 

 

An 16,000 Electric Bus Fleet In Shenzhen, China

Shenzhen, a modern metropolitan city located in southern China, owns the world’s first and largest all-electric bus fleet. All 16,000 city’s public transit buses and 22,000 taxis are operating 100% on electric power. This fast-growing city is also the home to the largest electric vehicle manufacturer, BYD. 

The Shenzhen Bus Group, the major bus transit agency in Shenzhen, estimated that by converting the entire fleet to electric, they are able to conserve 160,000 tonnes of coal per year and reduce annual CO₂ emissions by 440,000 tonnes. However, it’s important to note that Shenzhen didn’t have any electric buses let alone an electric bus fleet prior to 2010.

So how did a city grow from zero to 16,000 electric buses in just under a decade? There are many reasons and factors that contributed to this green accomplishment. 

 

Growing Environmental And Health Concerns

Stepping into the 21st Century, China faces growing public concerns and criticisms about the deteriorating urban environment and air quality due to a spike in the concentration of lung-damaging particles called PM2.5. This increase is primarily attributed to the industry’s  heavy expansion, increased private vehicles on the roads, and a profit-focused economic development national strategy. 

Heavy pollution often leads to smog, an unfavourable intense air pollution condition that could have detrimental effects on human and ecosystem health. The situation worsened year after year, forcing the government to take action and introduce policies to reduce urban carbon emissions. 

Converting the entire country’s bus fleet into an all-electric fleet is an important first step in mitigating carbon impacts and restore the environment on the government’s agenda. 

Shenzhen has been selected as a pilot city to experiment with the fleet electrification project, primarily due to Shenzhen being a quite innovative city in China and the upcoming 2021 Universiade games. The city has been onboard with this ambitious plan of replacing all city’s 16,000 buses with electric buses, and hopefully, pave the way and serve as an example for other cities in China. 

 

Governmental Support Of Transitioning To Electric Fleet

One of the key factors for any transit agency to transition into an electric fleet is getting wide support and funding from the local government. Electric bus units are often more expensive than the conventional buses in terms of purchase prices and upfront costs. However, as battery prices are rapidly dropping due to technological innovations and lowering manufacturing costs, it is highly likely that we will see more affordable electric bus models launched into the market in the near future. 

 

Investing In The Right Infrastructures

Investing and establishing electric bus infrastructures is an essential practice in supporting and accelerating the adoption of electric buses. Knowing how to strategically place charging stations across the city directly impacts the electric bus network’s operational efficiency. 

Shenzhen took a pioneering approach by installing charging stations at bus depots for overnight charging and also built charging stations at bus terminus so vehicles can charge periodically when they layovers. This ensures buses have enough battery energy to cover the entire day operations without the need to be taken out of service in the middle of the day for a lengthy full charge. It also maximizes vehicles’ utilization rates to make sure they spend more time on roads serving customers rather than being parked at charging stations, waiting for a charge. Additionally, the city opens these charging stations to other city-service vehicles, such as taxis, to improve charging infrastructures’ utilization rates. The results are astonishing, as these infrastructures accelerate the transitions of all 22,000 city taxis to a fully electric fleet.

 

Enhanced Manufacturer’s Support

A primary key concern raised by many transit agencies is whether the electric bus can have the same life expectancy as the conventional bus. The degree of battery degradation has a direct impact on the vehicle’s operational range and overall system productivity. Though most of the current electric bus manufacturers promised a vehicle lifecycle of 8 to 10 years or 100,000 miles, similar to what a conventional diesel bus can deliver, hesitation and indecision still exist among transit agencies over the reliability of electric buses. 

Shenzhen Bus Group was confronted with the uncertainty associated with the bus battery performance at the early stage of the transition process. However, this uncertainty was solved by negotiating with vehicle manufacturers for a lifetime warranty of the vehicles’ battery. It’s important to note that one of the main reasons why the vehicle manufacturer was willing to offer a lifetime warranty is because they were able to manage the financial risks through continuously innovating battery technologies. Having strong foundational technological support from the manufacturers is an essential pillar to ensure the fleet electrification process can succeed and sustain in the long term. 

The success of the bus electrification project in Shenzhen, China, highlighted that the bus electrification process relies on the support from multiple key stakeholders, strategic infrastructure, asset allocation and management. 

Now, the following question remains: how can data be collected to not only track progress towards a greener future, but to ensure typical fleet management occurs?

 

The Role of Telematics in Electric Fleets

Electric Vehicle Suitability Assessment: Bringing You The World’s Largest Electric Vehicle Real-World Range Dataset

Electric vehicle adoption cannot succeed without telematics. From the preparation and consultation at the beginning of the process to the fleet scale management in the later stage of adoption, telematics plays a critical role in every part of the journey. 

The EVSA (Electric Vehicle Suitability Assessment) is a systematic data-driven process that informs fleet managers about which parts of the fleet are suitable to transition to electric. Through leveraging the world’s largest electric vehicle real-world range dataset and analyzing the current fleet’s unique driving profile and historical patterns, the system can make personalized recommendations of fleet electrification blueprint and best implementation practices. 

For transit agencies, not all buses in the depot are suitable or cost-beneficial to be converted to the electric bus immediately. Buses in newer conditions or those that were recently bought by transit agencies certainly should not be phased out before reaching the end of their lifecycle. 

Range and the availability of charging infrastructures are some key considerations for transit agencies when it comes to fleet planning and deployment. They are more likely to pilot and deploy electric buses on shorter bus routes or routes with sufficient charging infrastructures. The EVSA has the best ability to know which route is fitted for electric bus operations after analyzing thousands of similar real-world scenarios, giving fleet managers the full confidence to implement plans.  

Costs of fleet electrification are always a major concern for any business, including transit agencies. The EVSA will provide fleet managers with a clear comparison between the costs of operating the existing fleet and the costs of operating an electric vehicle fleet. Fleet managers could determine which approach or strategy they should be undertaking that best suits their budget. They are also able to view the initial expense and long-term savings of adoption to the electric vehicle fleet, paving the way for presenting these data to city council for approval. 

 

Largest Set of Supported Electric Vehicle Models

The electric bus market is rapidly expanding as new vehicle models are introduced into the market every month. To provide the best possible support of the entire fleet operation, fleet managers need a telematics solution that supports all types of electric vehicle models in the fleet. That means telematic solutions must keep up with the growth of electric vehicle markets by continually adding vehicle support every month. 

A winning solution should evolve with the changing market and support a broad range of electric bus models, so transit agencies can purchase any model they want without any constraints. 

 

Highly Customizable Software Platform

Similar to other industries, transit agencies desire a high degree of customization on the telematics platform to add features to cater to their needs. The telematics solution providers have to offer customers a wide selection of add-on features and software integration capability so that transit agencies can migrate their existing features such as automatic passengers counting solutions, crowd monitoring systems, and a variety of transit-oriented software systems to the new electric fleet management platform. Telematics offers new exciting features such as battery degradation monitoring, energy use tracking, and temperature impacts on range real-time analytics tools to provide comprehensive electric fleet support. 

 

Electric Vehicle Charge Assurance Dashboard: Guarantee A Smooth Operation

Service reliability is a vital metric for transit operations. No transit agency wants to see one of their vehicles break down or declare out of service in the middle of passenger route due to low battery. The Electric Vehicle Charge Assurance Dashboard is a useful tool that enables fleet managers to monitor vehicle charging status in real-time. Fleet managers will get an alert if the vehicle wasn’t plugged in or charging didn’t start correctly. The dashboard also warns fleet managers of any electric vehicle that didn’t reach the specified battery level due to a charging issue, allowing fleet managers to take preventive actions such as taking the vehicle out of service early. 

 

The Future Of Electric Buses

As battery technologies continue to improve and evolve, we expect to see buses with improved range and longer lifecycles in the future. The extended range will open up new opportunities and provide more flexibility to transit agencies in terms of route planning and work assignment. 

Expanding charging infrastructures and developing new charging technologies can also significantly improve operational flexibility and vehicle utilization rates. Wireless charging provides a glimpse into the visionary future of electric bus charging solutions. The wireless solution involves charging pads positioned at terminus and bus layover points. Whenever the bus stops on the charging pad for a brief layover, the bus automatically adds energy to its battery through an air gap. This flexible “on-route” charging solution allows buses to complete unlimited cycles of trips without the need to return to the depot for a lengthy full charge. It is a transformative technology that allows electric buses to operate routes of any length without range concerns. 

There is no doubt that the electric bus is the future of public transit. It is our answer and response to the worsening global environment, declining community health, and increasing social burdens. Transitioning to renewable energy is the mission of our generation. The electric bus is just the beginning of this challenging journey.

Contact us to speak with a fleet electrification expert to see how we can leverage telematics technologies to help your fleets go electric. 

Green Fleet

How Public Transportation Fleets Can Become A Green Fleet

Posted on | by Alan | Leave a Comment on How Public Transportation Fleets Can Become A Green Fleet

Public transportation is a lifeline for cities. It plays an irreplaceable role in communities of all sizes and connects people to places and destinations. Public transportation has had a long history of being a cost-effective environmentally-friendly method of travel. A single bus can carry up to 50 passengers and replace approximately 30 -40 private vehicles on the roads. 

Municipalities and Governments worldwide have prioritized the investing, improving, and revolutionizing of public transit systems to ensure continued success.

Climate change and public transit is continuously spoken about together as transit systems are one way for entire populations to take steps towards reducing their carbon footprint and environmental impacts. 

In fact, this focus of green fleets reducing carbon footprints and environmental impacts has also moved into nearly every industry – especially industries that are vehicle-based businesses. So much so, that embracing renewable clean energy has never been a more imminent task, and the public transportation sector has already embarked on this revolution. 

 

Why The Public Transportation Sector Is Looking At Green Fleets Right Now

Technology Maturity

Municipalities and public transit agencies have been eyeing for greener solutions to power daily operations. Shifting an entire bus fleet to zero-emission has been on the agenda for many transit agencies. In fact, some cities have already accomplished this goal of green fleets, while others have set a target date for when the transformation will be complete. 

Toronto, home to the current largest electric bus fleet in North America, expects to achieve a fully zero-emissions fleet by 2040. Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) based in New York City, the largest transit agency in North America, also plans to move towards an all-electric fleet by 2040. 

As the electric vehicle battery technology is constantly improving and getting more mature and advanced over time, the electric bus has become an increasingly viable and appealing option to replace diesel bus fleets as the future form of bus transportation.

 

Government Mandate And Regulatory Guidance

The government mandate and regulatory guidance further push transit agencies worldwide to consider shifting to a full-electric fleet. The United Kingdom has committed to banning all sales of diesel-engine and gasoline cars by 2040. Additionally, they are planning to ensure that all vehicles on roads to be zero-emissions by 2050. Other European countries have followed a similar approach by setting a target date to phase out diesel and gasoline vehicles. 

Back in North America, the Canadian province of British Columbia has also introduced a similar plan to end eternal-combustion sales in the upcoming decades. 

Public transit agencies, often funded and administered by the government, need to set an example for the rest of the society through determination and real actions to progressively transition into renewable-powered operations. Transit agencies have an undeniable responsibility to lead the change and raise public awareness about the benefits electric vehicles. 

 

Transition Takes Time

Another pressing reason why transit agencies should begin moving to an all-electric or green fleet now is due to scaling. Transit agencies in major metropolitan areas tend to have large fleet sizes of hundreds or thousands of buses. Converting the entire existing fleet to an all-electric fleet is not an easy task and requires a vast amount of time and work from agencies to carefully plan out the implementation process in stages. 

The length of the transition period also depends on the production rates of vehicle manufacturers and battery suppliers. All these uncertainties and complexities of work highlight that change takes time, and transit agencies need to act now to meet the regulatory deadlines and/or targets. 

 

Lower Operational And Maintenance Costs

Though change is hard, the benefits of a green fleet in public transportation is rewarding. 

In the beginning, many transit agencies were skeptical about transitioning to an electric bus fleet due to concerns associated with cost and performance. Some were worried about the high initial purchase costs of electric buses, but that consensus is shifting rapidly. The lower operating costs of electric buses have made them a more economical option than internal combustion engine buses in the long run. 

On average, it’s 2.5 times cheaper to operate an electric bus than powering a diesel bus. The fuel economy of electric buses is five times higher than that of diesel buses. Given that the electric bus and diesel bus have a similar lifecycle of 8-12 years, transit agencies can expect huge savings in fleet operational costs after the transition. 

In fact, this does not even account for savings from maintenance costs which is far lower for electric motors than that of conventional motors.

 

Good For Our Planet

Cost-savings is just part of the advantages of committing to an electric bus fleet; the more significant impact concentrates on understanding what this change means to our planet. 

An electric bus operates 100% on green technologies and is completely free of GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emissions. As buses are currently responsible for 25% of black carbon emitted in the transportation sector – its impact is something we can no longer overlook. As bus activity continues to increase in the future, we expect to see an additional 26,000 tons of black carbon being emitted into the air by 2030. Shifting to fully electric bus fleets can drastically cut down carbon emissions by 1.4 billion tons globally by 2050. 

Because electric buses have no tailpipe, an improvement in local air quality can immediately be observed. Reducing global transportation sector emissions is a top priority, and bus fleet electrification paves a reasonable path to achieve this goal. 

 

Good For Our Community

Reduced emissions from fleet electrification not only helps to lessen environmental burdens but also has a transformative impact on the local community health. Traditionally motor vehicles emit toxic and hazardous pollutants into the air through the exhaust system, causing a rise in illnesses in communities near roads. 

Vulnerable populations with pre-existing medical conditions are at a higher risk of developing more severe symptoms and illnesses such as asthma, diabetes, lung cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. Children and the elderly with compromising immune systems are also faced with adverse health outcomes, including permanent lung damage and other long-term health effects. 

Every year, pollutants from motor vehicles cost our economy billions of dollars. In the United States alone, around $24 billion to $450 billion of social costs per year are attributed to the health hazards caused by motor vehicle pollution. The astronomical magnitude of motor-vehicle pollution impacts prompted a revolution in finding new energy sources to power vehicles on the roads to protect and safeguard community health and improve global sustainability. 

Building and transitioning into a zero-emission bus fleet is a fundamental step in reshaping our communities and protecting vulnerable populations. Research conducted in the Great Toronto and Hamilton Areas in Canada shows that electrifying and transitioning all public transit buses to green fleets can prevent 143 premature deaths per year in those areas. 

In addition, moving towards a green fleet addresses one of the key complaints about diesel buses – the noise generated from the vehicle’s internal combustion engine. Exposure to prolonged noise can be an invisible killer that harms people’s hearing, causes stress and anxiety, and results in drivers’ fatigue. The electric bus offers unique advantages by presenting a much quieter riding and driving experience for passengers and operators. In fact, the bus is so quiet in most of the low-speed urban road scenarios that local communities won’t even notice a bus has passed by. Customers will truly enjoy a more comfortable, quieter, and superior commuting experience on an electric bus. 

 

Pushing For Wider Adoption Of Electric Vehicles Across All Sectors

Investing in proper infrastructures to support the electric bus fleet’s growth will sustain change and foster continuous quality improvement over the entire bus network. Shifting to an all-electric fleet means a fundamental change in operations management and service planning. Installing and constructing new charging stations across bus depots, terminus and providing convenient intelligent charging solutions paves the way for expanding electric bus fleets. 

Pushing for new electric vehicle charging stations not only benefits public transit services but also leads the way for the expansion of charging infrastructures for private electric vehicles. Only through building an extensive network of electric vehicle infrastructures and service facilities can we truly stimulate a bigger electrification trend in the market. 

Curious to learn more about electric fleets and the role that telematics plays? Or how one city adopted 16,000 electric buses in a decade? Read the continuation of this article here.