In order to attract investment, create good-paying jobs, and reduce U.S. dependence on oil, the Electrification Coalition works with cities and states across the country to accelerate the transition to electric light- medium- and heavy-duty fleets. This work takes the form of individual consultations with fleet representatives, DRVE tool analyses, and resources like DriveEVFleets.org.
The Dashboard for Rapid Vehicle Electrification (DRVE Tool) allows fleets to conduct rapid analysis for EV adoption, giving fleet managers the customized data they need to go electric in a way that maximizes cost savings and emissions reductions.
With just a few clicks, the DRVE Tool allows users to easily upload existing fleet data in any of a variety of formats and immediately view a data-rich analysis that includes available models of EVs, emissions reductions, and cost savings. The tool produces detailed results customized to the user’s ZIP code and fleet composition, revealing percent savings by EV model, total cost of ownership of EV models under different electricity prices, and side-by-side cost comparisons with conventional vehicles in a range of applications.
Users can enter local fuel prices, electricity prices, leasing terms, annual vehicle miles traveled, charging scenarios, and other factors to weigh options and scenarios with a high degree of localized specificity. The DRVE tool spans the light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicle classes to offer a comprehensive picture of selected scenarios, displayed as interactive charts and graphs. Users can download the results into a customized print-ready report.
DriveEVFleets.org represents unprecedented cooperation among 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 strengthen its economic and national security through transportation electrification. It is a turnkey, one-stop, online procurement portal providing U.S. and Canadian state and local government agencies and public and private educational entities, from K–12 through higher education, with access to competitively solicited contracts for electric vehicles (EVs) and charging infrastructure, as well as information on innovative financing solutions and best practices for EV procurement and deployment.
In February 2021, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced the availability of $180 million of Fiscal Year 2021 funds for the purchase or lease of low- or no-emission vehicles, as well as related equipment or facilities and workforce development training.
With the help of the Collaborative’s direct factory ordering process, Austin has purchased more than 130 EVs, realizing an average savings of $1,300 per vehicle. Over 10% of the City’s 6,800 vehicles with available EV replacements have been converted. The local transit agency aims to have a fully electric bus fleet by 2032.
In 2019, the City purchased three EVs as part of its aim to reduce overall emissions to 2006 levels by 2050. With access to competitive prices on suitable vehicles through DriveEVFleets.org and the EC’s policy and technical expertise, the city committed to purchasing 20 EVs in 2020.
Through the Collaborative’s resources, Ann Arbor city staff adopted 20 electric vehicles, connected with other municipalities to develop an EV-ready ordinance, and gathered transit electrification research that contributed to the historic passage of its A2Zero Carbon Neutrality Plan.
Amy Malaki is the head of policy and sustainability at SkyNRG and SkyNRG Americas, pioneering global leaders in sustainable aviation fuel production and supply. Prior to SkyNRG, Amy was the associate director for the transportation portfolio at the ClimateWorks Foundation where she developed philanthropic investment strategies to advance a sustainable, equitable and low-carbon mobility system. She also pioneered the organization’s international aviation decarbonization strategy. Prior to that she focused on Asia business development at Better Place, a Silicon Valley electric vehicle network startup. She has a B.A. in Chinese and China studies from the University of Washington and an M.A. in international policy studies (energy and environment) from Stanford University.