Good citizen fleets

Public fleets' challenges are as varied as their locations. In Florida, fleet vehicles are exposed to extreme heat most everywhere and corrosive salt air if they're near the coast. In Michigan, fleets endure very low temperatures and the rigors of snow removal, yet they have access to ethanol, which is produced in-state and whose use is mandated by law.

In California, where the weather is generally mild, public fleets must contend with air-pollution regulations that are more stringent than most other states. And in large metropolitan areas like New York, Chicago and Houston, public fleets battle traffic congestion, noise restrictions and heavy 24/7 work schedules that dare managers to keep vehicles on the road.

Despite their different sizes, locations and types of equipment, public fleets share a common element: They serve the public and are under constant scrutiny. “They're in the public eye,” note Donald Aull and Robert Crandall, principals of AC Technical Inc., which merged with Commercial Vehicle Consultants, a firm specializing in large municipal fleets. “It's a tough position,” says Crandall. “You can't have school buses idling, waiting for kids, when private sector diesels are not allowed to idle. It doesn't look good.”

As state budgets are squeezed tighter, not only are public fleet managers expected to do more with less, but they are expected to handle equipment ranging from electric golf carts to buses, act as a test bed for new vehicles, and adhere to the highest safety, noise and pollution regulations. In addition, all this must be done within a political and bureaucratic environment.

Because of this diverse challenge, public fleet managers often show creativity and unique management skills not always seen (or necessary) in the private sector. Some do everything that is expected of them, but also focus on one particular area of expertise that sets them apart from their colleagues.

EMISSIONS CHALLENGE

The University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) fleet is a prime example. The school's contingent of about 1,000 vehicles includes 25 heavy-duty trucks, 13 buses, including 3 cutaways, large vans for ferrying commuter students and staff, light-duty trucks for craftspeople and about 180 ‘slow-moving’ electric vehicles for light payloads and escort services.

Sherry Lewis, general manager of fleet and transit services at UCLA, says that her greatest challenge has been to meet the state's tight vehicle regulations. “The state has mandated that 75% of light-duty trucks must be alternative fuels and we have additional requirements on the university level.”

In her 14 years as manager, Lewis has grown the university's fleet from one that covered a small shuttle route feeding parking lots to a transportation program that handles more than a million riders annually, including transportation services to five surrounding counties.

An early adapter of alternative fuels, she eliminated diesel buses in 1998 in favor of compressed natural gas. “All our buses are natural gas,” she says, “and we're in a transition process, changing to ethanol for light-duty trucks.” Vehicles that cannot be changed will be replaced, since the school's gas tanks will be converted to E-85.

One of the advantages of being a campus fleet is access to academia. “We're working with the academic side for fuel cells,” she notes. “We hope to install stations in about a year.” Not only does the school benefit from testing new technologies, but so do staff and students, who have a real-life test bed to try out new ideas and approaches.

About five years ago, Lewis called on graduate students to build and install a GPS tracking system for campus buses. A commercial system was not viable at the time because the fleet had only 20 buses and commercial vendors would not build on such a small scale. “We're building on the GPS pilot project for security, to monitor idle time and offer more efficient dispatching,” she adds.