MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Pioneering methods to accelerate electric fleet adoption, AMPLY Power will demonstrate and document its charging-as-a-service approach for an all-electric school bus fleet in New York City, it was announced on Feb. 3.
Logan Bus Company is providing a fleet of five electric school buses for the demonstration, Black and Veatch will be bringing their depth of experience in sustainable projects, and Unique Technical Solutions is overseeing routing, analysis and logistics.
The project is being funded by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).
During the next two years, AMPLY Power will provide its innovative charging-as-a-service package to the Logan Bus Company at its depot in Brooklyn, New York. As the electric utility account holder for its fleet customers, AMPLY Power provides comprehensive end-to-end services to fleet operators.
These include: managing infrastructure upgrades and utility interconnections, establishing an optimal charging strategy based on drive cycle and duty cycle, providing debt financing or securing grant funding for reducing capital expenditures, and implementing resiliency plans where needed.
The company is assuming the full financial responsibility of utility bills and provides the fleet with pre-negotiated flat usage rates. AMPLY also performs onsite operations and maintenance services, and invests in technology upgrades as a fleet’s needs evolve.
“Taking the technical guesswork out of going electric is a critical step towards mainstream electric fleet adoption. Which is why we took the time to develop a service model to make electrification for fleet managers and owners as simple as possible,” said Vic Shao, CEO of AMPLY Power. “We are excited to have this opportunity to demonstrate the depth of our service, and illustrate how our price-per-mile-driven billing structure can accelerate fleet adoption nationwide.”
Medium and heavy duty trucks make up 23 percent of emissions on US roadways. However, in a 2018 survey by Greenbiz and UPS, fleet operators cited high cost and complex infrastructure as main deterrents in expanding their electric truck and bus pilots to full deployment.
With its charging-as-a-service model, AMPLY answers the challenges fleets face, while remaining technology agnostic, and guarantees electric vehicle uptime related to charging, in exchange for a price-per-mile-driven billing structure.
“Governor Cuomo’s recent State of the State address reaffirmed his commitment to electrifying New York’s transportation sector, especially bus fleets,” said Alicia Barton, president and CEO of NYSERDA. With today’s announcement, AMPLY Power is creating a model that can be replicated by other bus operators to reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions, and provide cleaner, more efficient transportation for the benefit of riders and communities across the state.”
Logan Bus Company, the largest school bus provider for the New York City Department of Education, is converting five of its diesel buses to electric buses to participate in this demonstration project. Once this is completed, bus routes will be determined.
The demonstration of the charging-as-a-service model is expected to launch in early 2021. In addition to documenting the complete demonstration, AMPLY and partners will also be creating a final report on how this model can be applied to accelerate fleet electrification throughout New York and the country.
“Logan Bus is excited to be the first company in the New York City school bus industry to introduce an all-electric vehicle,” said Corey Muirhead, executive vice president of Logan Bus & Affiliates. “We have heard loud and clear the Governor, Mayor, City Council, and parent body, who have advocated for electric vehicles. Running this project and collecting this data is imperative to showing key stakeholders that electric conversions are economically feasible and [are] currently a more cost-efficient way in reducing our carbon footprint.” www.loganbus.com
