Much of the talk about the “Messy Middle” centers on the vehicles themselves or on the charging/fueling infrastructure. Those things are, of course, important, but during our recent Bootcamp session, Decarbonizing With Natural Gas, I was reminded of the role of the driver in the successful deployment of alternative-fueled vehicles regardless of their powertrain—natural gas/ renewable natural gas, battery electric, or hydrogen fuel cell.
Dan Deppeler, VP of maintenance at Paper Transport, a company that has more than 77 million natural gas miles, said that even today, drivers have a 30% influence on the fuel efficiency of a vehicle. Our previous Run on Less events demonstrated that drivers do make a difference. For example, the seven drivers in the very first Run on Less in 2017 averaged 10 mpg over the three weeks of the Run, but on some days they got as high as 13 mpg. Several of the drivers in the Run, most notably Henry Albert, Clark Reed, and Joel Morrow, are more than willing to share their tips and techniques for getting the most miles from a gallon of diesel. I suggest you seek them out.
As fleets begin adding alternative-fueled vehicles to their operations, they need to keep drivers in mind. While many things about these trucks are the same as their diesel counterparts, there are some nuances to the way they drive, how quickly they accelerate, how they handle, and how they “fuel.”
See also: Roeth: Join our 'messy' dialogues about your fleet's future
During the Bootcamp session, Marty Tufte, corporate fleet director at WM, which runs a fleet of 13,189 natural gas vehicles and more than 200 CNG stations, said they are investing in training drivers on the nuances of these powertrains.
The success of any technology implementation is buy-in from the people who use it. If you are considering adding an alternative-fueled vehicle to your fleet, you might want to include a driver or two on the committee evaluating the options.
Once you have selected a powertrain to test, develop a technology-specific driving training program. Begin training drivers who are enthusiastic about new technology and who can then serve as technology evangelists to get other drivers comfortable with the new technology. Tufte shared that WM has more than 10,000 CNG-trained drivers.
When we were interviewing fleets and drivers during Run on Less – Electric, a number of drivers told us they were skeptical when they were first told they would be driving an electric vehicle. However, all of them added that they not only loved the trucks, but they also did not want to go back to driving a diesel-powered vehicle.
Trucking is in a time where fleets have lots of choices. In order to make a smooth transition to a new powertrain, make sure to engage and train drivers so you will get maximum efficiency from the technology.
