by Brianna Crandall — January 24, 2011—Aramark Uniform Services has announced it is the first commercial uniform provider to introduce hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) into its national fleet, under a $2.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Maryland Clean Cities Program. The initial rollout of 25 hybrid step-vans is currently underway, and by spring of 2011, a total of 78 HEVs will be delivering along AUS service routes in 28 states.
Each hybrid—when compared to a standard diesel model—reportedly reduces total greenhouse gases emissions by 30 percent and generates fuel efficiency gains of 20 to 40 percent. As a result, Aramark anticipates annual fuel savings will top 500 gallons per each HEV.
Manufactured by Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation, the HEVs use the combination of an energy-efficient diesel engine and an electric motor powered by Tesla Motors lithium ion batteries. When traveling under 30 mph, the hybrids run on electricity, and when the speed increases they switch to use the diesel engine. Therefore, the HEVs are being deployed to mostly urban areas. This strategy leverages not only the HEVs’ fuel economy but their regenerative braking system, which converts energy normally wasted during braking into electricity to charge the motor’s battery.
Aramark is also implementing a route-optimization program. Using global positioning system (GPS) devices in each fleet vehicle and routing software, AUS has sorted client accounts by their similar locations and mapped out the most efficient and effective travel route between them in order to reduce travel time and lower the total number of miles and corresponding fuel consumption.
