UB On Track for Electrifying Vehicle Fleet

UB Sustainability says they are on track to meet 2025 goal despite supply chain issues

A woman uses an electric vehicle charger on UB's North Campus

UB Chief Sustainability Officer Ryan McPherson says the Sustainability Office is on track to meet its goal of mandating that all new vehicle purchases be fueled by clean and renewable energy sources by 2025.

UB Sustainability's “10 in 10” plan involves 10 different approaches they are taking to “ increase climate action throughout the university and put us on a path to net zero emissions by 2030.”

The ‘Electrify Our Ride’ approach says “With a fleet of nearly 500 vehicles, UB is heavily dependent on our wheels… Electrifying our campus fleet is critical to making a dent in our carbon footprint while increasing campus safety through automation.”

The office was careful to specify that this does not mean they aim to have all UB vehicles run on renewable energy by 2025, as many of the fleet’s vehicles have a lifespan of 10 years.

“Electrify Our Ride” contains three sub-strategies. Phase I was completed in 2019, and involved convening a task force to investigate the economic effects and emission reductions of electric charging infrastructure. The office said that last spring a series of new EV charging stations were installed on both the North and South campuses, increasing by 30 (16 on North and 14 on South) the number of plug-in opportunities available to EV users.

Phase II, which aims to be finished this year, involves creating a framework for the University to “clearly illustrate the EV capital and operational costs versus traditional carbon polluting vehicles which will allow units to make informed purchasing decisions.” This budget framework will include the price of fuel, maintenance, training requirements, carbon impacts, and other factors.

Phase III includes mandating that all new vehicle purchases (where technically and economically feasible) be EV and transitioning the University’s bussing contract and internal bussing services to 100% electrification by 2025.

The office says that limited charging infrastructure on campus has complicated their transition over to an EV fleet, but that they are making progress on acquiring needed funding to overcome that hurdle.

The department noted that the purchase of specific electric facilities vehicles they seek have been delayed due to supply chain issues, and that “funding for some of the EV fleet infrastructure and services has been capped and is therefore not available.”

Originally written for the UB Spectrum, April 26, 2022