Fleet of the Future
The City of Sacramento moves its municipal vehicles toward sustainability
BY Eric Johnson | DIGITAL ILLUSTRATION BY Kelly Barr
ark Stevens , fleet manager for the City of Sacramento , speaks about his 2,500 vehicles , repair shops , fueling stations and other assets with the passion and precision of a devoted mechanical engineer . He focuses most of his excitement on the city ’ s effort to turn the fleet into a model of municipal sustainability .
Stevens is excited about the efficiencies and cost savings that a switchover to electric vehicles will bring . He says an electric-powered garbage truck , for example , will ultimately save tons of money because the hydraulic and pneumatic machinery that picks up the refuse containers and compacts the trash will be replaced by simple electric motors that rarely need repairs . And he is particularly thrilled with a recently deployed software-and-hardware suite that allows him to view detailed information about his entire fleet in real time .
Stevens says he ’ s been working throughout his 40-year career to make fleets of vehicles more fuel efficient and less polluting , and he has received two recent industry honors . In 2019 , his division , which is in the Department of Public Works , received the Green Fleet Award from the National
Association of Fleet Administrators . And in June 2020 , Stevens was named Public Sector Fleet Manager of the Year by Government Fleet .
Stevens credits these achievements to the city ’ s elected leaders who , he says , gave him a crucial tool . “ Sacramento ’ s Fleet Management division is one of the few agencies that has a true council-approved resolution for sustainability ,” he says . “ I think it ’ s very clear that our mayors and council members , being in the state capital , wanted to set the right tone and show that we are walking the walk . So they ’ ve been very forward-thinking .”
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