For the past two weeks, I've felt like a kid in a candy store. That's because we've started visiting the sites of the fleet depots taking part in this fall's Run on Less–Electric Depot.
I am learning a lot from the people I am interviewing at the sites, including fleet managers, drivers, representatives from utilities, and other organizations involved in decarbonization, and other stakeholders.
But the main reason I am so excited is that I am seeing the reality of battery-electric vehicles. Here are a few examples of things that have awed me.
Schneider has more than 4 MW of power at its South El Monte, California, site and will have deployed 92 Freightliner eCascadias by the end of the year. Great way to make a statement about their commitment to clean trucking.
At the Pepsi Beverages location in Sacramento, there are 21 Tesla Semis hauling beverages, three of which are slip-seating and doing more than 300 to 400 miles on a single charge. The performance of the trucks at this site should address some of the concerns about the range of electric trucks.
OK Produce is a relatively small fleet with 100 trucks, but they are "all-in" when it comes to electric trucks. In one week, they replaced three diesel terminal tractors with three electric ones. After operating their Freightliner eCascadias for only a month, 55 of their 110 drivers are certified and have been behind the wheel.
See also: Answering common questions about electric trucks
For my team, the Run really starts with these site visits, even though it doesn't officially begin until Sept. 11. We've completed 43 interviews so far after just three visits! Look for complete fleet depot profiles, including a comprehensive video on the Run on Less website, in August.
We'll continue sharing some insights from our visits to the other fleet depots in the Run because we really can't contain our excitement about what the fleets are doing and what we are learning. So much so we created this video from the first three visits.
Michael Roeth has worked in the commercial vehicle industry for nearly 30 years, most recently as executive director of the North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE). He serves on the second National Academy of Sciences Committee on Technologies and Approaches for Reducing the Fuel Consumption of Medium and Heavy-Duty Vehicles and has held various positions in engineering, quality, sales, and plant management with Navistar and Behr/Cummins.
