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Tesla, Siemens and the race to map the future of fleets

When was the last time people got all fired up about a tractor trailer? I'm referring, of course, to the headline-grabbing rollout in mid-November of Tesla's semi-autonomous, electric tractor trailer.

Even though theTesla truckwon't be on the road (commercially speaking) for at least two years, Walmart, DHL and J.B. Hunt already have pre-ordered it as part of emissions reductions strategies for their logistics networks. Part of their motivation is certainly compliance-related, as countries put the squeeze on diesel-related air pollution. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recentlypenalized沃尔玛(Walmart)$ 400,000因未能迅速升级其在加利福尼亚的柴油卡车,以减少黑碳和精美的物质。

But the Tesla launch is just one in a series of developments likely to play a role in defining the future of mobility, not just the fleets of trucks and vans central to delivering goods to both homes and businesses but also the squadrons of taxis and buses transporting people around cities and metropolitan regions.

The pace of technology innovation is accelerating, with proclamations about AVs, electric vehicles and alternative approaches to ride-sharing services emerging on an almost daily basis. Both industry groups and transportation officials want to be in the drivers' seat when it comes to deciding what is adopted, and how.

A roadmap to guide the roadmaps

Several influential NGOs, research institutes and sustainable city coalitions — including the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Rocky Mountain Institute and World Resources Institute — have drafted a set of suggested guidelines that they are advocating as a framework to guide planning and policy,"10 Shared Mobility Principles for Livable Cities."

The consortium was brought together byRobin Chase, co-founder of car-sharing company Zipcar, who was concerned mayors and transportation officials weren't paying close enough attention to the disruptive impact of technology such as ridesharing and autonomous vehicles on public transit. The idea was born about a year and a half ago, she told GreenBiz.

"In this explosion, cities have not clearly expressed their goals," Chase said. "We agree on the basic values and principles. We hope to create a communications platform that anyone can use." The initiative, Chase believes, is "collaborative, open source and generative."

绝对提倡的许多想法可能会影响私营部门的交付车队,并为城市中心的公司提供通勤计划。一般而言,几个在单人占用的汽车上皱着眉头,这是一个专门用于停车和超大车辆的空间,这些空间没有共享。您可以在这个大主题下提交这些内容:“我们优先考虑人员。”

It's the last principle on the list, however, that is likely to be the most controversial for automakers: "We support that autonomous vehicles in dense urban areas should be operating only in shared fleets." That particular guideline also suggests that it is also "critical" that AVs are "zero emission." The rationales come down to affordable access, public safety and emissions benefits, according to the principle.

Chase, who has begun to engage with big transportation companies, said all of the principles are meant to be challenging to the status quo. "I feel that right now, my personal best purpose is making sure that we are going into the future of share and autonomous vehicles prepared to end up in a better place than we are now," she said.

A bold commitment to cut emissions

通过建议他们应采取的形状来领先法规的另一项倡议是"50 by 50" Commission, a group created by the Alliance to Save Energy that brings together interested actors from the transportation sector, the world of power, federal agencies, environmental and consumer NGOs, utilities and cities. The diverse participants range from vehicle companies such as Audi of America and General Motors, to energy companies such as National Grid and WGL, to the mayors of Pittsburgh and Fort Worth, Texas.

As its name implies, the goal is to come up with suggestions that could reduce energy use in the U.S. transportation sector by 50 percent by 2050. "We're at a fascinating time in the transportation industry," said Scott Keogh, president of Audi of America, in a statement released for the commission's launch. "The way in which vehicles are powered and how they're driven is evolving. We're at an inflection point, and we have an opportunity, as an industry and a sector, to leverage that transformation for the benefit of society."

车辆的动力以及如何驱动的方式正在发展。我们处于拐点。
该委员会实际上正在寻求在五个技术领域的政策领先,这将直接影响公司和公民舰队的未来组成:轻型车辆,非道路运输(例如港口或机场的设备),重型和货车,为燃料提供基础设施以及共享的出行服务。希望能在2018年底发布建议,以便可以参与公众对话和行动。

Dean Seavers, U.S. president of National Grid, which envisions a deepening role as part of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, told GreenBiz that it's in the transportation sector's interest to force these discussions proactively. "We need to get the best ideas on the table," he said.

The future makeup of corporate fleets — from delivery van to service trucks to everything in between — will be a thread that weaves its way through most of the sub-committees. It isn't just a matter of transitioning to more efficient fuels or electrifying vehicles where it makes sense, Seavers said. The group also will study new models of ownership and shared usage that borrow ideas the way that ridesharing services have diversified, he said. An example to keep in mind for inspiration: UberEATS, which turns drivers into food delivery people when human fares are scarce.

Cities and states are getting a head start

优先考虑更多共享服务和运输计划的努力在美国各州和地方一级都取得了更多的势头。betway必威娱乐11月初,东北和中大西洋国家的联盟更加认真地对合作进行区域运输计划,他们希望从现在到2030年之间有助于将碳排放量减少29%至40%。betway必威娱乐

参与者 - 康涅狄格州,特拉华州,华盛顿特区,马里兰州,马萨诸塞州,纽约,罗德岛和佛蒙特州 - 正在与沟通和企业会面,以征求思想。这个想法是协调现代化基础设施的投资,支持该地区向零排放车辆的过渡并减少碳排放。

It's worth noting that most of these states are part of theRegional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which partially explains New Jersey's absence from the collaboration. New Hampshire, which is part of the RGGI, is also conspicuously absent.

该州自然资源机构副秘书彼得·沃尔克(Peter Walke)指出:“与邻国的国家合作,我们在发电部门取得了巨大进展,但佛蒙特州的42%的排放来自运输部门。”betway必威娱乐“正如RGGI所证明的那样,当我们共同努力以实现共享目标时,各州就很强大。”

根据,全球已有70多个城市正在为全球共享移动服务提供策略。new researchby the Coalition for Urban Transitions. "Technology is changing urban transport, and cities must determine whether they proactively leverage these technologies for the benefit of their residents," said Elaine Trimble, director of the Siemens Global Center of Competence Cities. "The real question for cities is when to collaborate, and when to compete with new mobility services, and this is complicated by a lack of data on the impact to city air quality and congestion."

The pace of innovation is accelerating

Certainly, it will take years for any of these technologies to become mainstream, because the "upgrade" cycle for vehicles isn't insignificant. But the time for planning is now.

Take electric trucks: The Tesla introduction is likely to spur interest in the成长的舰队of companies that are selling electric delivery vans and trucks of various shapes and sizes. Among them: DHL,working closely with Ford, is selling models that it designed for its own operations to other companies; and Workhorse, prepping abig launchfor its next-gen delivery van at next month's Consumer Electronics Show. UPS is also investing substantially in alternative fuels, and it's even funding aconversion projectthat could see up to 1,500 existing diesel vehicles switched over to electric drive trains.

Practically speaking, its work watching the various demonstration projects that are revving up. An example is what is being billed as the first"U.S. eHighway" demonstration near the port of Los Angeles. The test, which involves three big-rigs carrying freight on an electrified stretch of road between L.A. and Long Beach, California, is being managed by Siemens and the South Coast Air Quality Management District. It uses a catenary system to electrify certain lanes with overhead wires. Think trolleys orstreet cars. (A test also is running in Sweden.)

"Every day, Americans rely on the goods and services that are carried by freight," said Andreas Thon, head of turnkey projects and electrification, North America, for Siemens. "But with that mode of transportation predicted to double by 2050, only one-third of this additional travel can be handled by trains despite expansion of rail infrastructure. Experts expect global carbon dioxide emissions from road freight traffic to more than double by 2050."

Roughly 125,500 electric trucks and vans will be on the road by the end of this year, according to projections by Navigant Research. But volumes could reach 1.66 million within a decade, the firm estimated. "For the next few years, trials and small-scale deployments by major fleets and manufacturers will help clarify potential cost benefits and could set in motion a significant increase in orders for electrified trucks," said Lisa Jerram, analyst with Navigant.

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