Municipal
Cities are paving the way for a greener future by transitioning their municipal fleets to zero-emission vehicles, reducing air pollution and fighting climate change.


Commitments made by the federal government more than a decade ago to fund the development of battery electric and fuel cell electric transit buses are now paying dividends in other commercial vehicle markets.

CTE collaborates with municipalities to design and implement customized charging solutions, considering factors such as vehicle types, usage patterns, and available power sources. We ensure that municipalities have the infrastructure in place to support their ZEV transition seamlessly.
Smart Deployment Services
CTE helps the fleet owner develop a project management plan to guide their zero-emission vehicle project. CTE collaborates with the fleet owner to define project objectives and scope, identify resources, and develop a detailed project schedule and implementation plan. The project plan is then presented at the project kickoff meeting held with key team members and stakeholders.
CTE’s modeling suite uses our proprietary engineering and analysis tools to develop an independent operational analysis that helps the fleet owner match ZEV technologies to service requirements.
Vehicle & Route Modeling – CTE gathers data on routes, technical specifications of the vehicle and charging or refueling equipment, and operational assumptions. This route and vehicle information is used to model the vehicles’ duty cycles, simulating vehicle performance on selected routes. The process also ensures that adequate power and energy storage specifications are met and inform fueling and charging strategies.
Fueling Infrastructure Modeling – For battery electric vehicle deployments, CTE defines charging scenarios to model electricity consumption and assess charging equipment requirements. Modeling results for electricity inform infrastructure procurement and operational decisions. For fuel cell electric vehicle deployments, CTE will determine daily hydrogen consumption and station throughput requirements given the fleet owner’s refueling window. CTE will also estimate a station scale-up plan as a starting point for fueling station design discussions.
Fuel Cost Modeling – CTE examines electric utility rate structures to estimate the annual cost of energy to charge battery electric vehicles. CTE works with the fleet owner and local utility providers to determine rate schedules that would be the most advantageous for supporting battery electric vehicle deployments. For fuel cell electric vehicle deployments, CTE will identify likely sources of hydrogen supply, evaluate hydrogen supply reliability, and estimate the cost of hydrogen.
Based on the modeling outputs, CTE helps fleet owners develop vehicle and infrastructure technical specifications to meet service requirements. The specifications can then be used as part of a competitive procurement or to develop a contract with a named vendor. CTE also provides advisory services throughout the design and build process.
If the fleet owner chooses to select a vehicle, charging, hydrogen refueling station, or facility modification vendor through a competitive procurement, CTE supports the fleet owner in the procurement process, including the preparation of Requests for Proposals (RFP), technical evaluation of proposals, vendor demonstrations, site visits to vendor facilities, vendor negotiations, and contracting.
Before the delivered vehicles enter service, CTE runs a series of tests to validate the expected levels of vehicle performance. If there are any discrepancies between the modeled and the tested performance, CTE will work with the fleet owner to analyze these discrepancies and reevaluate operational decisions before the fleet owner places the vehicles into service.
CTE collects operational data to generate a series of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure benefits and ensure the vehicles perform as expected. KPIs can be used to compare ZEV performance against the fleet owner’s current vehicle fleet by measuring and reporting mileage, fuel consumption and costs, maintenance costs, battery degradation, and efficiency and range under varying conditions. This information is used to assess energy savings, cost savings, and emissions reductions to measure performance against expectations and goals and to validate the operating model. Continuous KPI monitoring establishes an understanding of the technology that can be applied to future ZEV procurements, deployments, and long-range fleet management planning.
CTE employs a project management methodology specifically designed for zero-emission vehicle deployments and augmented by established project management, administration, reporting, and controls processes. CTE provides technical advisory services throughout the project to ensure that fleet owner staff understand the differences in technology and the best practices for deploying and operating ZEVs. CTE’s Smart Deployment Methodology is designed to address all aspects of a successful implementation including planning, requirements analysis, specifications, workforce development requirements, operator and maintenance training, testing and validation, and performance evaluation.
Transition Planning Services
We assess the viability of transitioning to zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) for a variety of fleet types, including transit buses, commercial trucks, port equipment, airport ground transportation and support vehicles, and more. This includes evaluating the energy requirements, vehicle performance, and emissions impacts of different ZEV technologies.
We analyze the types of ZEVs and “fueling” strategies that would best meet existing service requirements. This includes considering factors such as vehicle range, operational costs, and environmental impact.
We define a plan and related costs to upgrade utility service and add charging solutions or hydrogen fueling stations to support the transition to ZEVs.
We assess costs and benefits of various ZEV transition strategies. This includes considering factors such as vehicle purchase and operating costs, infrastructure costs, and fuel savings.
We define a comprehensive series of projects to meet a fleet operator’s transition goals. This includes identifying funding sources, developing implementation plans, and tracking progress.
Municipal Project Spotlight
City of Glendale Municipal Fleet Transition Plan
The Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) led an effort on behalf of the City of Glendale to study the feasibility, expected greenhouse gas reductions, and anticipated high-level cost for transition of all gasoline, diesel, and compressed natural gas non-bus fleets to zero-emission vehicles. The study identified the costs, performance issues, risks, and recommended procurement timeline regarding transitioning to the City of Glendale’s long-term goal of operating a fully zero-emission fleet. CTE collected, reviewed, and evaluated data on the city fleet’s operations.
One goal of the study was to assess both the vehicles and the anticipated charging stations required to support the fleet. The study assessed the suitability of currently available battery electric vehicle models for light-duty vehicles, medium-duty vehicles, heavy-duty vehicles, pursuit vehicles, and non-road engines. CTE also prepared a market overview of suitable charging station options which included available models, considerations for interfacing between the chargers and the vehicles, and sample costs.

Upon completion of the feasibility analysis, the project team developed a strategy to guide the deployment of electric vehicles. CTE worked with the city’s project team to ensure the transition strategy not only met the city’s goals but was also targeted at achieving electrification during the deployment timeline.
CTE’s assessments of zero-emission vehicle options, charging infrastructure, and transition planning recommendations provided the City of Glendale with a comprehensive strategy to maximize emissions reduction by employees, the general public, and potentially other electric vehicle operators through optimization of its charging infrastructure. The strategy included funding opportunities for local governments in California, including local utility programs, state-funded zero-emission vehicle incentive programs, and programs administered by the local air quality management district. CTE presented the final report to the City Council in September. Based on the City Council feedback, CTE was charged with another task to analyze an alternative scenario that would result in a full transition by 2040, and address hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and fueling infrastructure within the plan.
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