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Photos & Quotes: Fleet Forward the Tour NY/NJ

Fleet Forward•Photos 18•September 16, 2024

Fleet Forward: The Tour convened the final stop for 2024 on Sept. 10 in Somerset, New Jersey. Over 100 attendees convened to network, attend educational sessions, drive new electric vehicles, and achieve NAFA’s Certified Automotive Fleet Manager (CAFM) accreditation.

The speakers tell the story through the photos and captions. Both public and private fleet professionals discussed large-scale safety deployments, regulations on the horizon, zero-emission vehicle rebates, and how fleet managers are meeting today’s challenges.

The ride-and-drive allowed fleet managers to get behind the wheel of new vehicles for their fleets. 

With this year’s final Tour stop in the books, the road ends at the larger Fleet Forward Conference in San Diego Nov. 6-8.

Topics:Government FleetsRide and DrivePrivate FleetsFleet Forward: The Tourindustry educationFleet Forward
Man with microphone making presentation.

NAFA CEO Bill Schankel kicked off the festivities. After the Tour agenda concluded, NAFA conducted a CAFM certification overview.

Ross Stewart Photography/rms3digital

Wide shot of hotel conference room during a presentation.

Nancy Murray of Agfa moderated a seminar with fellow fleet managers David Hayward of ABM, Brandon Boring of Pennsylvania State Police, and Jim Hineson of the Port Authority of N.Y. and N.J.

Ross Stewart Photography/rms3digital

Man with microphone making presentation.

Jim Hineson said the Port Authority is on track to electrify 50% of its light-duty, non-emergency vehicles by 2025. “Where we can't implement electrification or put in an alternative fuel, we look at technology such as idle mitigation or other approaches such as expanding our motor pool, which ultimately reduces our emissions,” he said.

Ross Stewart Photography/rms3digital

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Man with microphone during panel seminar.

Said David Hayward of ABM: “A lot of our electric vehicles don't actually need a fast charger. They can charge overnight, which is more than enough time to get a full charge. But you need telematics to have the data that shows which vehicles are doing lower mileage, which wouldn’t require multiple charges throughout the day.”

Ross Stewart Photography/rms3digital

Man with microphone during panel seminar.

Will Dreier shared that fleets are not subject to the restrictive sourcing requirements that consumers must abide by under IRA’s 30D tax credit. “(IRA’s) 405W does away with all of these (requirements) and allows fleets to tap into these tax credits and really go electric.”

Ross Stewart Photography/rms3digital

Woman with microphone making presentation.

Margaret Boelter emphasized the different types of incentives beyond vehicles: “There are also utility-level incentives, including favorable rates and demand-charge holidays,” she said. “They also have make-ready programs that provide funding for infrastructure. “It's really crucial to look at the full landscape of incentives and figure out how you can stack those to maximize your savings.”

Ross Stewart Photography/rms3digital

Man with microphone making presentation.

Peter Schenkman of Fernhay Solutions gave an overview of the regulatory environment facing fleets in 2025 and beyond. “The election could trigger daily challenges to EPA regulations and this time of uncertainty is going to cost fleets more,” he said. “You're going to keep vehicles longer. You're going to increase your fleet maintenance costs while you're waiting for a clear-cut definition of what the regulations are going to be.”

Ross Stewart Photography/rms3digital

Man in discussion during networking break.

Networking with local vendors and fleet managers is a key component of Fleet Forward Tour stops.

Ross Stewart Photography/rms3digital

Two men in parked car conversing.

Getting behind the wheel of an EV provides the most immediate education to fleets.

Ross Stewart Photography/rms3digital

Man with microphone making presentation.

Brandon Boring said that the Pennsylvania State Police is implementing idle timers. “Our mobile office equipment, our cameras, our lighting, all can currently run 15 minutes with the vehicle off, and then we're going to start tying into the auto start-stop system,” he said. “Once the battery voltage drops below a certain voltage, it'll fire back up the vehicle, enough to bring the battery back up to charge, and then it'll shut itself off.”

Ross Stewart Photography/rms3digital

Two men conversing during presentation.

Keith Kerman, chief fleet officer for NYC DCAS, the New York City Fleet, engaged with Automotive Fleet’s Chris Brown on how the largest public fleet in the country is meeting today’s challenges.

Ross Stewart Photography/rms3digital

Man with microphone making presentation.

“In 2015 we said that we would achieve a 50% greenhouse gas reduction in the New York City fleet by 2025, and we’ll get there,” said Kerman. Also, “We have replaced all our diesel fuel with renewable diesel. We did that in a tough operating environment, and we didn’t need to change how we operated.”

Ross Stewart Photography/rms3digital

Man in discussion during networking break.

Fleet luminaries turned out such as retired Deputy Commissioner of the NYPD Bob Martinez.

Ross Stewart Photography/rms3digital

Woman enters car to drive as colleagues look on.

Nancy Murray and other fleet managers tested many vehicles for their fleets.

Ross Stewart Photography/rms3digital

Two men converse next to a vehicle in ride and drive.

Emmanuel Anyanwu of Mercedes fleet and Chris Brown of Automotive Fleet discuss Mercedes’ electrification plans.

Ross Stewart Photography/rms3digital

Badge of F-150 Lightning pickup.

The Ford F-150 Lightning is a cornerstone vehicle for fleets that are electrifying. 

Ross Stewart Photography/rms3digital

Montage of vehicles at ride and drive event.

Automakers represented in the ride-and-drive were: BrightDrop, Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford, Lucid, Mercedes, Nissan, Polestar, Ram, and Volvo.

Ross Stewart Photography/rms3digital

Woman on stage making presentation in front of attendees.

Will Dreier of Electrification Coalition and Margaret Boelter of Zeem Solutions shared perspectives on the incentives and rebates environment.

Photo: Ross Stewart Photography