Mark Stevens is the fleet manager for the City of Sacramento , which is replacing its gas vehicles with electric vehicles . PHOTO BY ERIC JOHNSON
temperature , the tire pressures and how much time it idles . If we receive a fault code , it instantly sends a message to our fleet software system , and we get a notification so we can get that vehicle into the garage right away . So we ’ re looking at reducing repair costs by catching problems early on .”
This integrated system , built by the industrial Internet of Things manufacturer Samsara , replaces a GPS system . This allows Stevens to deploy it to the Sacramento Police Department , which operates the fleet that accounts for the most miles and highest costs in the city . Police agencies have been reluctant to deploy GPS on their vehicles because they don ’ t want anyone to be able to track a patrol car ’ s location . The Samsara software enables fleet managers to disable that functionality , which resolves that issue .
This development coincides with Ford ’ s release of its first “ pursuit-rated ” hybrid patrol vehicle , and Sacramento has committed to a plan to replace its gasoline-powered fleet with them . Including police cruisers in the fleet ’ s sustainability efforts will result in significant dollar savings and carbon-emissions reductions because these vehicles are responsible for the biggest cost and most pollution in the city . Stevens says that for every eighthour shift , a police car sits idling for more than half of that time .
“ That vehicle runs for four-anda-half hours with the air conditioner and computer on , so that officer can do what he or she needs to do — that ’ s their office ,” he says . “ With the advent of this new hybrid vehicle , we ’ re now able to reduce that idle time by more than half , because you have a battery sitting underneath the rear seat that can run everything .”
A proposal Ford put together for the city shows that replacing all 241 vehicles in the Sacramento Police Department fleet would save more than $ 1 million per year and keep almost 5 million pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere .
Sherry Wu , Samsara ’ s senior product marketing manager , says many of the company ’ s customers find this ability to monitor idling valuable . “ They want to have visibility of when the engine is running but the vehicle isn ’ t moving , so they can know how much money they are literally burning by wasting fuel .”
In launching its fleet-sustainability efforts 13 years ago , Sacramento positioned itself for the future . In September , California Gov . Gavin Newsom issued an executive order mandating that all new passenger vehicles sold in California be ZEVs by 2035 .
Venema says transportation is responsible for more than half of the greenhouse gas emissions in the city and is a major focus of the city ’ s Climate Action Plan update underway as part of the 2040 General Plan Update .
“ Sacramento has a strong commitment to sustainability in mobility ,” Venema says . “ From our General Plan goals to our innovation in operating programs to allow shared rideables and car share , mobility is such a huge part of how we advance sustainability .”
Eric Johnson is a freelance writer for several Northern California publications . Before moving to Sacramento in 2017 , he held senior editorial roles at various newsweeklies and magazines in the Bay Area for 20 years .
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