Government Fleet, Jan/Feb 2021

and Newark international airports with 12 buses assigned to each It has more than 130 light duty EVs in service including Chevrolet Bolts Chrysler Pacifica plug in hybrids Hyundai Sonata plug in hybrids and Ford Fusion plug in hybrids The authority expects to have more than 220 by next year About 20 of CADs light duty fleet is now electric or hybrid The EVs are used mostly by office staff field staff engineers operations personnel and bridge painters The agency is pushing toward converting over 600 vehicles by 2023 about half of its light duty fleet So far the fleet has saved more than 700000 kg of greenhouse gas emissions The EVs help fulfill the agencys drive to meet greenhouse gas reduction targets outlined in their commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement 35 by 2025 and 80 by 2050 Niranjan says the purchase process also relies on some basic questions what are your goals for buying an EV Reducing emissions Service time Costs What type of operation are you running What will be the usage of the vehicle its mileage types of trips Where will it be housed What about charging infrastructure grant availability and utility support with payments Depending on the agency or municipality labor rates and contracts for parts and fueling will vary A fleet manager also wants to look at whether the agency can tap federal or state EV Fleet Ready for Vehicles PHOTO PORT AUTHORITY OF NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY James Hineson the general maintenance supervisor for Central Automotive Division of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey says the authority contacted agencies with neighboring fleets and learned the ins and outs of EVs while researching their feasibility Its simple to join groups and reach out to cities and get some positive and negative experiences to learn from JANUARY FEBRUARY 2021 GOVERNMENT FLEET COM 15