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.
1. Would the University be willing to convert some of their vehicle fleet to CNG? If so, how many?
a. The fleet is managed at the department/college level. Each unit purchases their own vehicles. F&S would be a prime entity willing to acquire CNG vehicles as part of a normal replacement cycle. Perhaps 8-12 vehicles annually.
2. What are the pros and cons of using CNG in campus trucks vs cars?
a. The use of CNG is more focused on how the vehicle is used rather than type. Most “cars” are used for travel out of the local area where CNG fueling would pose challenges. Most F&S “trucks” are exclusively used on campus where CNG fueling would be centralized
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.
9/09/16
Summary: This meeting was our inaugural meeting for the year. On the agenda today was the creation of a team description, a review of ongoing projects, and planning for future meetings.
In attendance:
Josh Feldman
Claire Dondival
Ankit Singhai
Yangfeng Ouyang
Pete Varney
Lily Wilcox - Active Transportation Coordinator
Olivia Webb - Sustainability Programs Coordinator
Topics Covered:
Team Description
We collectively crafted our team description for the iCAP portal, which can be found at: https://icap.sustainability.illinois.edu/project/transportation-swateam.
Project Slides
Renewable Fleet Study:
Claire and Petehelped foster a discussion about the current types of alternative fuels for campus fleet vehicles. Currently, natural gas is the only type of fuel seriously looked at. One concern was that the gas CNG, while possible to implement, would be somewhat costly and have little payback unless driven many miles. Electric vehicles were brought up, but are currently not part of the market. Biodiesel was also mentioned, but its performance in cold weather is a concern.
Staff Mode Shift:
Lily discussed the ways that this project will reduce single occupancy vehicles. One idea looked at was bike sharing, which has been tried by Purdue but does not have much payback economically. Lily also discussed “It’s your MTD too”, which features social bus-riding trips which introduce MTD to campus employees.
Bike Plan:
This was a summary of effort to make campus more bike-friendly. This would include having more, and better, bike parking. UIUC was recently recognized as a bronze-level Bike Friendly University by the League of American Bicyclists.
Future Meetings
We decided that every other Friday at 1pm is a good time to hold meetings. We will be holding meetings in the National Soybean Research Laboratory. Our clerk Josh will send out reminders.
The iCAP Working Group (iWG) met on February 16, 2016, to discuss the SWATeam recommendation, Trans007 Campus Fleet Analysis and Planning. The iWG's final comment was:
"They have suggested that this analysis is ideally completed by an industry professional. The iWG recommends that this study can be broken down into phases where phase 1 could be done by students, and phase 2 then could be done by an outside consultant (industry expert). Ben will suggest this to the SWATeam."
Following the iWG meeting, this recommendation was returned to the Transportation SWATeam for further discussion and modification to the recommendation within the SWATeam.
See SWATeam recommendation Trans007 Campus Fleet Analysis and Planning here.
The Transportation SWATeam submitted a recommendation to the iWG stating,
"Campus fleet analysis and planning. The campus fleet includes department-owned vehicles, the car and truck pool vehicles, and the heavy equipment pool (mainly diesel-fueled large construction equipment). It is proposed that a feasibility study be performed on campus that:
1. Reviews the campus sustainability goals in the context of the University fleet;
2. Analyzes existing fleet data (i.e., fleet composition, ownership, usage/mileage profile) and future demand;
3. Evaluates current vehicle technology, fleet size, fuel types and availability;
4. Proposes collection of additional data (if needed);
5. Identifies various plans and anticipated cost/benefit results. Some of the options include: converting regular fuels to compressed natural gas, electricity, or biodiesel, increasing the portion of low-emission hybrid vehicles."
See attached the SWATeam recommendation, Trans007 Campus Fleet Analysis and Planning, complete with comments from all the Transportation SWATeam members.
See the supplanted SWATeam recommendation Trans004 Fleet Study here.
see file
Several SWATeam recommendations were discussed. Also, an update from the Sustainability Council was provided:
"Review of Council Meeting/Status of iCAP Approval - The Sustainability Council meeting went very well with lots of good discussion. There were not too many serious objections to the iCAP. They would like to see financial information, such as cost-benefit analysis on projects. This information will be included in the study for accelerating our carbon neutrality date. The cover letter from the Chancellor affirming our commitment will include language about the current fiscal climate in Illinois. The Chancellor was keen to be able to reach carbon neutrality by 2035. Other concerns were in regard to the net zero space item and they suggested a space audit be included in the iCAP."
F&S sent their response to the iCAP Working Group (iWG) on June 12, 2015, which was then forwarded to the Transportation SWATeam on the same day. The Transportation SWATeam supplanted the Trans004 Fleet Study recommendation with the new Trans007 Campus fleet analysis and Planning recommendation.
See the new SWATeam recommendation Trans007 Campus Fleet Analysis and Planning here.
See Transmittal of SWATeam recommendation Trans004 Fleet Study here.
See iWG assessment of Trans004 Fleet Study here.
Following completion of the iWG assessment, the recommendation was transmitted to the Facilities & Services on May 4th, 2015.
See iWG assessment of Trans004 Fleet Study here.
The iCAP Working Group (iWG) met on April 2, 2015, to discuss and start the assessment of SWATeam recommendation, Trans004 Fleet Study. Their official comment on the recommendation was:
"The iWG recommends that F&S undertake this study. We suggest that F&S work with the Transportation SWATeam to attempt to identify interested faculty who could lead the study. We suggest that the study also consider a 10-year horizon for campus efforts, examining what immediate actions can be taken and what actions could be undertaken in the coming years to account for expectations for future vehicle availability."
See attached the iWG assessment of Trans004 Fleet Study recommendation complete with official comments from all the iWG members.
see file
Several recommendations were discussed from the Transportation SWATeam and the Puchasing, Waste, and Recycling SWATeam.
Dear iCAP Working Group Members,
As a reminder, we will be meeting this Thursday at 1:30 (and also next Thursday, 4/9, at 1:30).
This week we will discuss the timeline for completing our work on the iCAP, and then turn our attention to the 7 attached formal recommendations we've received from the Transportation and Purchasing, Waste, and Recycling SWATeams. Please review these in advance of the meeting, so that we can discuss them most efficiently. If you will not be able to join us due to a schedule conflict, please email me in advance if you have any particular concerns.
Next week (4/9), we'll be joined by Kent Reifsteck and Mike Larson from F&S, and also Scott Willenbrock from the Energy Generation SWATeam, so that we can discuss what the iCAP should say about charting a pathway for clean energy for our campus.
Thanks,
Ben
Professor Benjamin J. McCall
Associate Director for Campus Sustainability Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus-sustainability@illinois.edu
The Transportation SWATeam submitted a recommendation to the iWG stating, "Perform a general analysis and recommendations regarding the potential to transition the University fleet to renewable fuels. This analysis would review the types and usage of University vehicles, the current and short term expectation for vehicle availability and propose various plans (i.e. conservative, moderate and aggressive) for GHG emission reductions along with approximate fiscal impact for each plan."
See the SWATeam recommendation, Trans004 Fleet Study, complete with comments from all the Transportation SWATeam members.
