Set your fleet up for success
Following these best practices will ensure a smooth transition as your fleet electrifies.
Infrastructure costs
Our fact sheets will help you anticipate and plan for the various costs associated with charging your fleet.
Ongoing maintenance
Train your maintenance staff on how to best maintain the EVs in your fleet. If your organization doesn’t have maintenance staff, know in advance where to bring fleet vehicles for maintenance. For light-duty vehicles, dealerships are often trained to provide maintenance for EVs.
Train your staff on proper EV charging behaviors to maintain the vehicle’s condition.
Consider purchasing the same model or brand of EV across your fleet to streamline any training your maintenance staff needs to undertake.
Fleet chargers may require light maintenance, such as cord replacements, software updates, snow removal, etc.
Staff support
Provide your staff with training sessions on operating and charging your fleet’s EVs to build confidence.
Strongly encourage drivers to plug in the vehicle after using it to ensure a full charge for the next user. If your organization subscribes to a time-of-use rate or off-peak rate through your utility, provide clear guidance to your drivers so that they know when to charge. Alternatively, set a timer on the EV to limit charging to certain hours.
Provide drivers with resources, such as PlugShare, to locate and use charging infrastructure.
If the EV is used as a pool vehicle, provide a map showing the EV’s range in winter and summer months so drivers know how far they can travel before needing to charge. Additionally, encourage staff to use PlugShare’s trip-planning capabilities to plan their route and charging stops.and Lyft.
Public education
“Wrap” the EVs in your fleet with a large vinyl graphic that identifies the vehicle as electric to create awareness and visibility. Publish a blog post or post on social media to highlight the EVs in your fleet. See Drive Electric MN’s Social Media Guidance for examples! Keep an info sheet in the vehicle that provides facts about the EV to use as talking points if members of the public ask questions about the EV.
Driver responsibilities
Drivers (or another designated staff member) should be responsible for charging the vehicle after use. Keeping EVs fully charged maximizes their range and ensures they are ready for the next user.
Dig Deeper
If you’ve reached the end of your journey and still have questions, contact us or consult our Electric Vehicle Resource Database.