Transportation iCAP Team Meeting 12/1/2023
The Transportation iCAP Team met on 12/1/2023 to discuss EVs on campus and action items for the Sustainable Fleet Replacement Plan.
The Transportation iCAP Team met on 12/1/2023 to discuss EVs on campus and action items for the Sustainable Fleet Replacement Plan.
Following is the response from Dr. Ehab Kamarah from F&S on October 11, 2023:
Thank you, Dr. Fraterrigo. F&S supports the recommendations.
Regards,
Ehab
Read the iWG transmittal for Transportation 015 Fleet Replacement.
F&S has received 4 new Ford F-150 Lightnings all electric trucks, bringing the total to 6 Ford Lightnings and 1 Ford e-Transit cargo van for F&S fleet.
We have also installed another level-2 Ford dual point smart chargers on the south side of PPSB and we are working on the installation on another one. We have 2 more chargers to install. The Charging Stations installations are being done using the SSC funding.
This Ford E-Transit cargo van is being picked up now from Deans Graphics. It will be assigned to the 03-shop at F&S.
Following is Pete Varney's response to the question from Morgan, "In addition to the Ford Lightning EVs, could we potentially get EV versions of the turtle-top 15-person vans? Also, is there any discussion about getting Hybrid buses for UI Ride?"
When discussing EV we have to look at manufacturer availability and operational needs. Car Pool vehicles, 15-pass vans, need to be able to operate both locally and on extended trips ruling out EV due to range restrictions.
We won’t be looking to replace the first UI Ride bus until FY24/25. We can explore hybrid, but this class of vehicle is different from MTD hybrid buses. Electric may be an option. When the time comes, we’ll discuss with the System office as they put the $$ into UI Ride.
Thank you,
Pete
Abbott Power Plant are the recipients of one the new Ford F150 Lightning Electric Trucks.
There is a charging station in the alley between the plant addition and scrubber where the vehicle can be parked and charged (see photo below). The plug on the truck is on the side in front of the driver side door.
The key for the new truck is in the control room at Abbott. The key is a FOB that must be in the vehicle to start it. Similar to other new vehicles, the truck is started when the FOB is in the vehicle with you, you press the brake, and then hit the start button. Since it is electric you of course will not hear the motor engage and start, but the car will “come to life” with the dashboard coming on and displaying. The vehicle can now be put into gear and driven.
NOTE, the vehicle comes equipped with “engine braking” engaged. So, when you take your foot off the accelerator, the electric motor will “reserve” (turn into a generator) and start slowing down the vehicle (and at the same time charge up the batteries).
Please be careful when driving the truck for the first time and take some time to get accustomed to how it works.
F&S purchased two all electric Ford F-150 Lightning trucks in spring 2022. Read the Insider article about this here: https://fs.web.illinois.edu/Insider/2022/09/21/ahead-of-the-curve-and-al...
From: Varney, Peter W
Sent: Tuesday, April 19, 2022 12:38 PM
To: FandS Executive Management Team ; Gordon, Malikah Asrayyah ; Breitwieser, Steven
Cc: Patterson, Shawn L ; Franzen, Neil
Subject: Ford Lightnings for F&S
As mentioned this morning, I have been able to secure two of the brand new 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning for F&S. These are all-electric crew cab pickup trucks with a ~200 mile range. The vehicles are equipped with a 9.6kW power system including multiple 120V and a single 240V outlet. Cargo payload is only about 1,600# or 2/3 of a standard F-150.
These vehicles should allow for my team to gain familiarity with all-electric vehicles in our fleet as well as campus visibility regarding F&S’ commitment to sustainable fleet technology. I believe one of the vehicles would be a good fit in my Transportation Shop but I’m open to suggestions for the second truck. ETA will be in the June/July timeframe.
Malikah – I want your team to be aware for any story/messaging opportunities. I also think we can use some special signage or wrap on the vehicle exterior.
Pete W Varney
DIRECTOR
Transportation & Building Services
Facilities & Services
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The Transportation iCAP team met on Thursday, January 27th from 4:00-5:00 P.M. The team discussed progress on the EV Task Force Member Recommendation, the fleet replacement plan recommendation, and two returned recommendations: the Carbon Credit program and the Carpool Survey.
The team has decided to do further research into what a carpool system would look like at the U of I, and will discuss the matter further with insight from other schools at the next meeting. Progress will hopefully be made on the Fleet Replacement Plan Recommendation, as the team will be meeting with Pete Varney in the Parking Department soon.
Further Information can be found in the attached document.
Attached are the meeting minutes for the Transportation SWATeam Meeting on 12/16/2020. The following agenda items were discussed:
BK Sharma at ISTC identified these specifications for IBI to meet.
1) B6751 for B100
2) B7467 for B6 to B20
The Transportation SWATeam had their first meeting of the semester. They discussed their formal recommendation for a new mode share study and opportunities for expansion of Green Fleet certification to new campus fleets.
The Transportation SWATeam discussed the opportunities, challenges, and feasibility of campus fleet car-sharing to reduce emissions from the campus fleet. They also discussed air travel offsets
The Transportation SWATeam had it's first meeting of the year. They discussed progress on the Transportation iCAP objectives, the status of related projects and proposals, and their priorities for the year. The team identified the following three areas on which they plan to focus in the coming meetings:
1. Exploring options for offsetting air travel emissions
2. Pursuing a comprehensive intermodal transit survey (one for students and one for faculty)
3. Assessing the feasibility of various options to reduce emissions from the campus fleet
The next meeting is on October 12th.
Hello Transportation SWATeam members,
Thank you again for your willingness to help our campus achieve the Climate Leadership Commitments. There is great value provided by the bi-weekly meetings of student, faculty, and staff representatives evaluating our progress and recommending additional actions campus units could take.
The following is a list of current activities I am aware of, and suggestions I have about useful next steps. I am happy to follow up with you on any of these, as needed.
Thank you very much,
~Morgan
Meeting Minutes 4/21/17
In attendance:
Ximing Cai
Pete Varney
Brian Farber
Yanfeng Ouyang
Summary:
This meeting serve to continue discussion on campus fleet, bike parking, and campus parking. Also, Ximing Cai was introduced to the team.
Topics:
Discussion on Campus Fleet
Pete led a discussion on campus fleet efforts. He stated that converting campus fleet to EVs and CNG vehicles would have a large effect on campus emissions, and that campus utility is interested in learning about electric vehicles, but there are certain obstacles to converting campus fleet. First it would cost about half a million dollars or more. These costs are largely attribute to building infrastructure for CNG refueling systems. In addition, campus fleet vehicles for Facilities and Services as well as housing do not drive very far, so the fuel savings would be small. However, converting campus fleet would be practical as the vehicles do not travel off campus, meaning there will be no inconvenience in refueling the vehicles.
Bike Parking
We continued our discussion on bike parking from the last meeting. One of our concerns, given the cost of the permits, is security. Anyone who is paying for a permit must be certain that there bike is secure. We might want to have security cameras.
Parking
We discussed efforts to encourage less driving through parking incentives. Pete suggested having a passenger-car-free campus zone by placing parking outside of certain zones of campus. This idea was well received by the group and generally liked. However, we discussed challenges to any parking changes. We discussed specific proposals to adjust parking prices, shown here:
- Try to price people out of parking and mitigate this by reducing the price at other locations
- Allow flexible payment in percentage of salary
- Have and “auction” in which whoever pays the largest percent of their salary gets the closest location.
- Remove or lift parking cap so that wealthier parkers pay more and thus provide more revenue
- Have a private company raise rates on parking
Then, we discussed challenges to these proposals:
- Parking is important to unions – any changes may result in strikes or political conflict
- The sentiment of Parking and Campus master plan does not necessarily agree with people parking farther away – an objective that would be achieved through a passenger-car-free zone
- Hiring private company likely not a good idea – their primary motivation is profit
- City of Champaign changed parking ordinances so that spaces at churches, fraternities, etc, decrease
Our next meeting is TBD.
The LEED transportation credit for encouraging low emission vehicles can be obtained if there are dedicated spaces for low-emission vehicles near the building in question. In general, the University is not adding new parking spaces for new buildings, so it is difficult to achieve this LEED point. One method is to add a Zipcar space for the building, and another is to add an Electric Vehicle charging station. Grant Colella, a Project Manager at F&S, suggested a long-term plan to change all of the campus fleet to low emission vehicles, so the dedicated service vehicle spaces would also be low emission vehicle spaces.
IMPORTANT NEWS: NAFA President Announces Major Association Initiative At the Annual Business Meeting this morning, April 8, at the I&E in Minneapolis, MN, NAFA President Claude Masters, CAFM announced the Association is developing a Sustainable Fleet Standard Program, which aims to increase efficiency, while reducing emissions and fuel use. Developed in conjunction with CALSTART, the NAFA Sustainable Fleet Standard Program is a one-of-its-kind initiative. With its development NAFA intends to pioneer a movement in the fleet community which emphasizes the economic and environmental benefits and overall importance of sustainability. “The importance of sustainable practices becomes more evident each day,” said President Masters. “By becoming more energy independent and efficient our members will extend benefits to their bottom line and their customer base.” In February, 2014, President Barack Obama lent his voice to a national vehicle sustainability initiative while NAFA was in the process of developing their own. This confluence spoke to the prominence of the issue. NAFA’s development of this program exemplifies its dedication to developing a standard of fleet sustainability. By applying this standard to fleets and vehicles of all sizes, NAFA is engineering a program that has the power to shift vehicle sustainability standards on a universal level. The program will allow member organizations to assess how to enhance their practices in a way that decreases their fuel dependence and emissions, while increasing the efficiency of their vehicles, improving performance, and reducing harmful pollutants. The ability to assess and strip waste on this front will pave a road to improve performance and reduce harmful pollutants, while often also reducing costs. The new Sustainable Fleet Standard Program is being designed for two purposes: to encourage and make it easy for fleets to take the first steps, while also setting a strong framework to reward those fleets already taking real action. The program will be complementary to existing federal programs, but sets a standard by which fleets can assess their progress. By instituting this program NAFA hopes to lead the way forward into a more sustainable, independent and efficient future. CALSTART, a national non-profit clean transportation organization, is collaborating with NAFA to structure the ground-breaking program. “NAFA’s central role in the fleet industry will help this program create a tipping point for sustainable transportation,” said John Boesel, president and CEO of CALSTART. “We’re working with NAFA to make sure the standard is strong, but easy to use by any fleet, whether just starting out or far down the road on sustainable operations.” More information will become available as the program approaches implementation. To ask questions and become involved as a charter member of the program, please visit www.NAFASustainable.org. |