“We got our executive into an EV and sent them to Wollongong. I think every single one of them called me to say, will I get back? It’s 400 kilometre range in the car, and it was 195 kilometre round trip. They all got back.”
That’s a quote from John Little, fleet manager at Sydney Water, talking at the 2024 Australasian Fleet Management Association conference. Little was on a plenary session panel titled Success with Decarbonisation.
The anecdote pointed to a key learning he wanted to share with other fleet managers transitioning to electric vehicles: education and engagement.
“It’s all about information and explaining the why,” said Little, adding, “Risk, safety, property, they all have an opinion. Some of it’s from a lack of awareness. The barriers are there. Make sure those stakeholders are part of the journey.”
Sydney Water fleet comprises 850 vehicles and 500 rolling major plant assets. It is a fleet of fit-for-purpose vehicles and assets that support water and wastewater services across greater Sydney metropolitan area.
Electrifying the fleet is aligned with Sydney Water’s corporate strategy to be carbon neutral by 2030. Vehicles contribute 12 percent of the organisation’s emissions. In May, Little said, his fleet had 71 EVs, and 28 chargers. One single site’s pool was entirely EVs.
“I did an entire site. I coupled up all of the ICE vehicles and took them away and rolled out EVs and we’re 12 months down the track and I’m still here, I’m still alive. People are still getting to the site and back. Now we’re looking at what’s next,” said Little.
Little’s approach involves surveying and keeping users informed through regular communications and updates: “Why we were doing it; What we were planning on doing.”
“I send out regular communication saying, ‘This is what we’ve done in the last couple of months to improve the experience. This is what we’re doing in the next couple of months.’ It’s constant engagement, especially at this early stage where it’s a smaller portion of the fleet that’s been transitioned.
“We put together an EV champions group,” said Little. Anyone who had an interest in EVs or already owned an EV were invited to be advocates for the cause.
He said he’s open to receiving feedback.
“I’ve had two individuals that have given me regular feedback, positive and negative. But apart from that, the bookings just keep going and the cars keep getting used and they keep getting charged and going again.”
