Two fleets discuss the pains of EVs and their benefits—both expected and unexpected

Chris Russo, Elite Home Care co-founder, said the main pushback he received from his drivers regarding a potential switch to EVs was mostly due to range anxiety. Similarly to Grade A, Elite Home Care overcame this hurdle simply by trying it out.

“It just took some time for [drivers] to get used to the platform and to get comfortable with it,” Russo said. The drivers know their own driving habits, and now they know to start thinking ahead if they see they're getting low on charge, he said.

Before drivers became accustomed to the platform, however, there was an instance when an Elite Home Care E-Transit ran out of charge, leaving a van full of passengers and a driver in need of rescue.

In this particular instance, dispatch simply sent another van to pick up the passengers, and they towed the depleted van back to base to charge up. Russo said it was more of a learning experience, as they used the circumstance to analyze what went wrong and what the driver could have done differently to avoid the problem. He also acknowledged that the team had encountered similar situations with ICE vehicles during instances when they ran out of gas.

See also: Fleet Advantage program designed to offer ‘easy’ EV path

However, Russo said that while running out of charge is similar to running out of gas, it’s the fact that his drivers can’t simply stop by a gas station and refuel that has required Elite Home Care to rely on its route planning and efficiency optimization.

“You can't just say, ‘I'll go get gas. I'll figure it on the road,’” Russo said. “And that's not the business we wanted to be. We wanted to be one that's purposeful, that plans out what we're doing.”

Another factor that Russo considers with EVs that he didn’t with ICE vehicles is government policy, which changes “it feels like every six months,” he said. Elite Home Care relies on government incentives to electrify its fleet, and navigating revolving policies has been a pain point.

“Although I care about the environment, we didn't get into [electrification] for environmental reasons,” Russo said. “We did it as a business for business reasons, so those government incentives do help.”

In the beginning, utility companies weren’t much involved with Elite Home Care’s electrification process because each facility’s electrical output provided the electricity necessary to charge the EVs overnight with Level 2 chargers. But business is growing, and Russo said Elite Home Care is installing one fast charger at each of its locations, which requires utility involvement.

When "dealing with energy companies, they all operate differently in how they want to support or not support this transition,” Russo said, explaining that although Elite Home Care operates in one state, it's 15 different locations aren't all served by the same utility company. "So those are different conversations with each [utility].”

Benefits of an EV fleet

Both Grade A Construction and Elite Home Care decided to implement EVs in their fleets because of the high cost of fuel. They’ve both realized a fuel savings benefit since then; Russo said a big chunk of Elite Home Care’s savings has been from fuel alone.

Yet, they both have found benefits in other areas as well.

Elite Home Care

Catalytic converter theft was a big problem at multiple Elite Home Care locations—so much so, that Russo employed large surveillance towers for its lots that housed ICE vans. 

“We had to keep [surveillance towers] in our lots because it's like a buffet for someone that wants to steal a catalytic converter where all these big vans are sitting in a row,” Russo said. 

When this happened, Elite Home Care would feel a strain on its operations. In the home care industry, people need to be picked up to make their appointments. “There’s no calling out or saying there’s a problem with our vehicle. You have to figure something out,” Russo said.

Electric vehicles solve this problem. His contract with the surveillance company is about to expire, and Russo said that’s one thing he’s excited to stop paying for.

Russo has also noticed that electric vehicles help attract drivers.

“I can't tell you how many times our drivers are stopped by other drivers to say, ‘What is that you're driving? Can I see that? That's really cool that that business is investing in their drivers,’ because that's their office all day,” Russo said. “That's where they're sitting. I think from attracting drivers and also keeping them here, [EVs have] been beneficial to us. We've heard quite a bit that [drivers] appreciate the investment in them.”

EVs make a more positive experience for Elite Home Care customers, too.

“In our particular business, I'm not hauling plumbing equipment,” Russo said. “I have people in there. For them, they like that it's quiet. They like that there's no exhaust that they're smelling, and that makes a difference for the passengers.”

Then, there’s the maintenance aspect, which Russo says makes up the other large chunk of Elite Home Care’s savings since implementing EVs. Preventive maintenance and “doing the small” things keep ICE vehicles running smoothly, yet if those small things aren’t being done on schedule, they can quickly become a big expense.

“We don't have the same amount of oversight that we had to have before,” Russo explained. “You don't have the risk of someone putting transmission fluid where they should be putting oil, right? Or you don't have somebody that drives when there may be an engine noise or an engine light and they keep driving ... and you end up with a blown transmission.”

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Grade A Construction

Grade A drivers have also appreciated the EVs and their ease of maintenance. No longer are drivers waiting for their trucks at the dealership forever, Cox said. Instead, they’re on the road.

Overall, running the Ford Lightnings versus the F-150s they were running before is “just easy,” Cox said. 

“We expected [the EVs] to be something challenging or something we wouldn't be able to keep, but they're easy to manage. They're easy to drive,” she said.