Phase-in operational changes, equipment changes including electric vehicles, and no-idling practices for city or local transit fleets.

Phase-in operational changes, equipment changes including electric vehicles, and no-idling practices for city or local transit fleets.

Best Practice of this action

Keywords

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Rating Guideline

	Monitor fuel usage and costs on a regular basis to assess vehicle efficiency; report data to fleet managers and users; implement maintenance schedules that optimize vehicle life and fuel efficiency; replace solvent-based vehicle parts washing with aqueous-based; adopt a no-idling policy/practice or conduct training for more efficient driving. Report small electric utility vehicles and vehicle right-sizing under BPA 13.2.
	Achieve a 1-Star rating and complete one or more of: (a) replace at least one vehicle with a plug-in hybrid or all-electric vehicle (and add fueling stations as needed); (b) replace vehicles (and add fueling stations as needed) with ones using lower-carbon fuels (ethanol flexfuel, compressed natural gas, straight vegetable oil, biodiesel above the State-mandated 5%, other advanced biofuels); (c) adopt an EV purchasing plan.
	Achieve a 1-Star rating and complete one or more of: (a) replace a medium to heavy-duty fleet vehicle with a plug-in hybrid or all-electric model, (b) replace 50% of the light-duty vehicle fleet with comparable all-electric or plug-in hybrid models, (c) install an EV charging station powered with onsite renewable generation (or purchase renewable electricity for EV charging). Report EV charging stations that the public can use under BPA 23.5.

Resources

Fleet Management:

The Minneapolis anti-idling policy has served as a model for Minnesota communities
The Fleet Management Tools for Local Agencies (MN Local Road Research Board: 2018) is a guidebook to help cities, counties choose tools for managing fleets.
The Dashboard for Rapid Vehicle Electrification (DRVE) Tool (Electrification Coalition) allows users to upload simple fleet data into an easy-to-use spreadsheet that can analyze and assess the best fit for EV deployment within minutes.
See BPA 13.2 resources for equipment and fuel decision and management tools.

Electric Fleet Vehicles:

Find EV Smart resources for Government Operations includes webinar recordings, resources, examples, and more.
See extensive resources from Drive Electric Minnesota, under the Communities tab, where resources were developed in concert with over two dozen GreenStep cities participating in the 2018+ Cities Charging Ahead initiative
The Fleet Electrification Toolkit (Drive Electric Minnesota, 2022) can aid your government through the decision-making process for electrifying fleet vehicles and taking steps towards becoming electric vehicle ready.
The EV City Resource Database tracks which pathways cities have taken to obtain and operate their EVs and chargers and other information, such as maintenance contracts and who has access to installed chargers. The database also documents how EV ordinances and vehicle action plans have been addressed across participating cities.
The Charging Forward: A toolkit for planning and funding urban electric mobility infrastructure (U.S. DOT, 2023) and Charging Forward: A Toolkit for Planning and Funding Rural Electric Mobility Infrastructure (2022) serve as one-stop resources to help urban and rural communities scope, plan, and identify ways to fund EV charging infrastructure, supporting diverse forms of electric mobility including transit.
The How Cities and Counties Can Electrify Their Fleets (RMI, 2023) report walks through each step in the electrification process.