March_2022 - 34

BEST PRACTICES
Zero-emissions bus planning
- how do we get it right?
Ten tips for a successful transition to zero emissions.
* Secure stakeholder buy-in: Organizational
alignment is key in this transition.
Work with suppliers who can
create a shared understanding, using
robust and bankable data. Route level
models provide confidence to decision-makers,
and depot emulation provides
confidence to operations teams.
* Establish protocols and standards
before procurement: Focus on being
vendor-agnostic but understand (and
demand) standards compliance.
* Re-evaluate procurement strategies:
There are multiple ways to approach
procurement, i.e., purchasing assets,
financial leasing and operating leases.
Understand your options and find a
strategy that works for you.
* Measure what you manage: Measurement
is critical for continual improvement,
but also for funding mechanisms
such as Low Carbon Fuel Standards
credits.
Evenergi, LLC
Measurement is critical for continual improvement of a zero-emission
transition plan.
* Move from plans to frameworks:
Adopt a framework model that allows
you to keep the transition updated and
current each year. Capture learnings
and integrate them into the plan.
* Seize grant and funding opportunities:
Familiarize yourself with grant
opportunities to fuel your transition
-there are plenty out there.
By Sasha Pejcic
Managing partner
Evenergi's North American
operations
WASHINGTON, D.C. * With the United
States' stated commitment to achieving
net-zero emissions by 2050, transit agencies
across North America are focusing
on the adoption of zero-emissions technology
for their fleets.
While this is a must-have for the
transportation industry, planning a
zero-emissions bus network can bring
new challenges. A zero-emissions fleet
requires shifts in procurement, planning,
operations and maintenance.
How do we overcome these barriers so
that we can reduce the risk and increase
financial and environmental benefits?
At Evenergi, 100 percent of our focus is
on the zero-emissions transport market.
Using our experience with hundreds of
clients globally, we've identified the following
steps for a successful transition.
* Approach with a willing mind, without
prejudice: The more transitions we've
done, the more we see that individual
context drives different outcomes. Try
to stay away from perceived accepted
approaches. This is still a new area and
individual context, in terms of barriers
and opportunities, matters.
* Approach your transition systematically:
Charging, scheduling, battery-sizing
and impact on labor requires
a systems approach. Each can
impact the other (charging can impact
battery life, for example).
* Iterate towards solutions: There are
many interdependencies, so be iterative
in your approach.
* Data is power: The quality of the transition
will relate to the quality of data
analytics.
34 | Mass Transit | MassTransitmag.com | MARCH 2022
A zero-emissions
fleet requires shifts
in procurement,
planning, operations
and maintenance.
Ultimately, there's a right and wrong
way to approach these transitions. The
wrong way will leave you with reports
that are quickly out of date, oversized
infrastructure and high-risk decisions
that cost time and money. The right approach
will ensure you have a framework
that provides you with the agility
and intelligence required to make good
decisions and operational insights to
allow you to refine the strategy as you
move forward.
http://www.MassTransitmag.com
March_2022

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