Indianapolis Freedom Fleet 2015 Annual Report

Indianapolis Freedom Fleet
2015 Annual Report
Prepared by:
Vision Fleet, Inc.

www.visionfleet.us
Prepared for:
The City and County of Indianapolis
May 2015
2015 Vision Fleet, Inc.
Indianapolis Freedom Fleet 2015 Annual Report
Executive Summary
In February 2014, the City of Indianapolis entered into a multi-year partnership (titled Freedom
Fleet) with Vision Fleet to reduce the Citys motor vehicle fleet costs, petroleum consumption,
and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The program will transition the City to cheaper, cleaner
miles via an innovative mobility-as-a-service performance-contracting model. The fleet
performance contract is largely based on a successful public-private services model (called an
energy performance contract, or EPC) that has delivered more than $10 billion in infrastructure
upgrades for government agencies across the U.S., all funded through guaranteed energy and
operational savings. Indianapolis is the first U.S. municipality to use a performance contract to
upgrade the efficiency of its vehicle fleet. This report provides an overview of the operational
and financial results of the Freedom Fleet in Year 1 (April 2014 April 2015).
The Freedom Fleet project will deploy 425 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and battery
electric vehicles (BEVs) collectively referred to as plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs). These PEVs
will allow the City to remove up to 536 aging, inefficient, costly-to-operate vehicles from its fleet.
Based on performance data from the programs first year, Freedom Fleet is on track to be one of
the most successful advanced-fuel vehicle (AFV) fleet deployments in the nation, if not globally.
As of this month, it also became the largest deployment of electrified passenger vehicles in any
government fleet in the United States.
The performance-contracting model provides numerous benefits. First, the City is achieving
taxpayer savings by minimizing the upfront capital investment required to refresh its aging
vehicle fleet. In Year 1, Vision Fleet invested more than $8.9M (while invoicing the City only
$1.5M) to replace old, inefficient, and high-cost vehicles in the Citys fleet. The average age of a
vehicle replaced by a Freedom Fleet vehicle was more than 9 years old. Second, by realizing a
per-mile total cost of ownership that is approximately 14% lower than the Citys business-asusual forecasts, the Citys expected savings over the life of the vehicles are estimated to exceed
$7.4M.1 Third, by replacing relatively inefficient vehicles (averaging only 16 miles per gallon),
Freedom Fleet is on track to reduce the Citys petroleum use by more than 1.7M gallons, generate
15,000 tons fewer GHG emissions, and reduce the Citys dependence on oil. Fourth, by deploying
PEVs into non-pursuit use cases where pursuit-capable vehicles were being used, the program
has thus far made available 41 such pursuit-rated vehicles for reassignment into pursuit use
cases. Fifth, through fleet-performance analytics and car-sharing, Vision will work with the City
to effectively right-size the fleet without a decrease in vehicle availability. Finally, this partnership
and its results are positioning Indianapolis as a national leader in AFV deployments while
showcasing the efficacy of performance contracting in transportation and the Citys dedication
to innovation.
In Year 1, Freedom Fleet deployed 139 vehicles across several departments, including nonpursuit Police (92), Public Works (15), Code Enforcement (11), Coroner (7), Fire (5), Probation (5),
and Engineering (4). City employees now use Freedom Fleet vehicles to reliably deliver a variety
1
Savings forecast includes additional savings for achieving certain vehicle utilization and efficiency milestones.
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of City services, including building and property inspections, contract monitoring, and nonpursuit law enforcement. Operational results delivered to-date have exceeded typical municipal
fleet performance with plug-ins. Collectively, Freedom Fleet vehicles have been driven more than
571,000 miles (47% of which were electric miles) with nearly 100% operational availability. The
associated gasoline savings exceeded an estimated 50 gallons per month per vehicle, totaling
more than 26,000 gallons in Year 1.
In Year 2, Freedom Fleet is expected to improve on the results from Year 1, working directly with
City stakeholders to improve electric-miles driven, vehicle utilization, data-driven fleet
management, and car-sharing. Additionally, Freedom Fleet will intelligently deploy an estimated
150 electric vehicle charging stations in the City and implement new car-sharing programs in
several departments.
Ultimately, the programs metrics and achievements are the result of the Citys dedicated fleet
managers who decide where to assign the vehicles and drivers operating the cars. Credit for
the to-date success belongs to the City employees directly managing the vehicles, driving them
efficiently, and plugging them in at impressively high rates for any fleet. Collectively, these actions
make a big difference, as evidenced by the programs documented oil and cost savings.
Introduction
Vision Fleet is a full-service enabler and accelerator of large-scale advanced-fuel vehicle (AFV)
adoption for Americas vehicle fleets. The companys mission is to make it simpler and more
affordable for fleets to deploy AFVs (such as electric vehicles, in the case of Indianapolis) while
maintaining or improving operational performance. Vision Fleets innovative model combines
proven elements of the financing innovations that transformed the solar photovoltaic industry
(i.e., solar power purchase agreements [PPAs]) and the energy efficiency industry (i.e., energy
performance contracts [EPCs]) with technology and operational support that helps fleets to
optimize the deployment and performance of AFVs.
Indianapolis agreement with Vision Fleet is a unique solution that uses a Total Cost of Ownership
(TCO) approach, enabling a true comparison of advanced-fuel and internal combustion engine
(ICE) vehicles, with guaranteed savings. Similar to PPAs, Vision Fleet's comprehensive service
includes all capital expenses (i.e., vehicles, vehicle monitoring technologies, and charging
infrastructure) and all recurring operational expenses (i.e., fuel, electricity, and vehicle
maintenance). Vision Fleet professionals support City fleet managers in vehicle selection, driver
training, maintenance scheduling, infrastructure site selection, and car-sharing implementation.
Similar to EPCs, Vision Fleet works with the City to continuously improve the performance of the
fleet by monitoring and providing feedback on vehicle idling, route choice, plug-in rates, driver
safety, and vehicle utilization. The cost savings generated by these efforts are then shared
between Vision Fleet and the Citythe essence of the performance-contracting model.
An in-depth analysis of the Citys existing light-duty ICE vehicle fleet, based on historical
Assetworks M5 data, showed a TCO per mile (TCO/mi) that has been climbing at a rate of more
than 4% per year and that will average at least $0.75/mi over the next 10 years. In order to reduce
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and stabilize its fleet-wide TCO/mi, Indianapolis signed an agreement with Vision Fleet that locksin a lower average TCO/mi rate for a seven-year period. This partnership significantly reduces the
uncertainty of Indianapoliss fuel and maintenance costs, as Vision Fleet assumes the operational
risks of fueling and maintaining the PEVs utilized by the City.2 The agreement also includes
deployment of a network of Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSEs or charging stations),
telematics to monitor vehicle performance, a technology and operations platform to implement
car-sharing, and hands-on operational support.
A common problem for municipal (and even some corporate) fleets adopting AFVs is
underutilization. Data show that fleets adopting AFVs, particularly BEVs, drive them only a few
thousand miles a year. On a TCO/mi basis, however, an underutilized AFV can actually cost far
more than a vehicle it replaces. The performance-contract approach directly addresses this issue:
unlike a traditional lease where a mileage ceiling is given, a performance-contract creates a
mileage floor to ensure the more efficient assets are being used.
Vision Fleet guarantees the TCO/mi rate based on an average minimum annual vehicle miles
traveled (VMT) for the PEV fleet; once that average minimum VMT is met, the City pays a
significantly reduced rate for any additional miles. Additionally, the Freedom Fleet VMTs are
calculated on a fleet average and annual basis, not car-by-car or monthly, to adjust for factors
such as seasonality and departmental use cases.
Vision Fleet is also working with the City to reduce the overall size of its fleet, replacing an
estimated 536 legacy vehicles with 425 Freedom Fleet vehicles. The program will further
maximize the Citys savings by implementing new car-sharing systems, retiring old and
underutilized vehicles, and improving its per-vehicle utilization.
Vehicle Deployment Summary

Vision Fleet is working with the City to implement a phased deployment, with gradually
increasing scale and complexity, in order to ease the transition to AFVs. This gradual transition
has been critical to the projects success. The City has maintained its core fleet management
responsibilities throughout this process, including deciding which vehicles to acquire and where
to deploy them. Based on the Citys preferences for the Freedom Fleet program, Vision Fleet
offers a choice of all available PEVs that can be acquired from local Indianapolis dealerships:
Chevy Volts (a PHEV), Ford Fusion or C-Max Energis (PHEVs), and Nissan Leafs (BEVs).3 The
deployment strategy includes multiple departments, job functions, assigned and take-home
vehicles, as well as car-shared vehicles. At the end of April 2015, 139 vehicles were in operation,
98% of which were Chevrolet Volts (see Figure 1); all purchased through local Indianapolis
dealerships.
Vision Fleet will not perform the maintenance itself; rather, it will pay for it as part of its TCO-based agreement.
While this part of the Freedom Fleet program is focused on oil-saving plug-in sedans, Vision Fleet is efficient
vehicle agnostic. Its performance-contracting framework can work with any efficient or AFV vehicle.
3
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Of the vehicles deployed, 96%

were assigned to a specific
driver. The remaining vehicles
are being utilized in car-sharing
arrangements, with more than
40 drivers sharing fewer than ten
vehicles.
This
car-sharing
initiative aims to reduce the
Indianapolis fleet by at least 100
vehicles through enhanced
resource efficiency and vehicle
utilization. Operating fewer
vehicles overall while maximizing
utilization of clean and efficient
vehicles will reduce operating
expenses and increase the fuel
and cost savings Indianapolis
achieves through the Freedom
Fleet program.
Figure 1. Indianapolis Deployment as of April 2015
The PEVs deployed in Year 1 spanned several departments, including non-pursuit Police (92),
Public Works (15), Code Enforcement (11), Coroner (7), Fire (5), Probation (5), and Engineering
(4). Notably, by deploying PEVs into non-pursuit use cases where pursuit-capable vehicles were
previously being used, the program has made available 41 such pursuit-rated vehicles for
reassignment into pursuit use cases.
During the remainder of 2015, Vision Fleet will work with the City to deploy 286 additional
vehicles in a variety of departments and functions. Vision Fleet will also utilize data gathered via
its Vision Fleet iQ (VFiQ) software platform to implement additional car-sharing systems, both
within and across departments.
Page 4
Freedom Fleet Performance

Freedom Fleet currently comprises mostly
PHEVs, allowing City drivers to operate the
vehicles on electricity (electric-miles) or
gasoline (gasoline-miles) once a vehicles
battery charge is depleted, without
compromising range or functionality.
Maximizing electric-miles is the best way for
the City to honor its commitment to
becoming a national leader in the transition
to a post-petroleum vehicle fleet.
At the end of April 2015, the Vision Fleet
vehicles in Indianapolis had driven more than
269,000 electric-miles, or about 47% of their
total miles traveled in the programs first
year (see Figure 2). Figure 3 shows how the
overall share of electric miles has fluctuated Figure 2. Electric Miles Traveled versus Gasoline Miles
Traveled in Year 1
over the course of the year as new vehicles
have come into the fleet and drivers have
adjusted to the new technologies. Notably, the Freedom Fleets metrics have shown a marked
improvement through the first quarter of 2015, a period where the program rapidly deployed a
large number of new vehicles (and trained new PEV drivers). Since those new vehicles have come
online, the percentage of electric-miles across the fleet has again exceeded 50%, while overall
VMT has comfortably exceeded the minimum mileage floor.
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Figure 3. Electric-miles per Vehicle versus % of Miles that are Electric-miles (May 2014 - April 2015)
Financial Summary
In almost all cases, AFVs have a higher upfront acquisition cost than their conventional ICE
counterparts, creating one the most commonly cited barriers to AFV deployments. By eliminating
the bulk of that upfront cost, Vision Fleet reduces this barrier while providing the City with
immediate financial savings. To date, Vision Fleet has invested $8.9M in the program, inclusive
of all vehicle and program management costs, while invoicing the City for only $1.5M (despite
the initial investment savings, overall savings are considered in the context of the entire contract
period). The TCO/mi solution also enables Vision Fleet to eliminate the Citys out-of-pocket
maintenance and fuel costs. Instead, the City pays a single per-mile cost, providing it with a stable
fleet operating budget and acting as a hedge against volatile gasoline prices. Over the life of the
project, if the current operating metrics continue, the City will pay a per-mile TCO/mi as low as
$0.65, 14% lower than the $0.75 it was forecast to pay under its business-as-usual case (See
Figure 4). Total City savings are estimated to exceed $7.4M over the life of the vehicles.4
Importantly, this $0.65 rate is guaranteedmeaning Vision Fleet takes the operating risk for
This savings estimate is $1.3M lower than initially projected at program launch, as the estimates now include
$1.3M in required EVSE infrastructure.
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issues like battery life, maintenance costs, plug-in rates, fuel price fluctuations, and even partial
insurance. 5,6
Figure 4. Average Forecast Total Costs per Vehicle over Next 10 Years
As outlined in the contract, pricing is also structured to incentivize better and more efficient use
of fewer assets and to encourage employees to charge their vehicles at home in order to
maximize the potential for electric miles. These shared savings incentives are designed to
encourage the city to improve the utilization, efficiency, and plug-in rates of the vehicles. The
Year 1 financial benefits of these pricing incentives are outlined in Figure 5.
$22,000
$5,046
$6,185
Utilization Savings
Efficiency Savings
Employee Reimbursements
Once the fleet reaches its

monthly minimum miles, the
cost drops by up to $0.26 per
mile.
If the fleet outperforms its

baseline on efficiency and/or
battery utilization, the City is
reimbursed per mile.
Drivers with take-home

vehicles are reimbursed for
the electricity they use to
charge vehicles at home.
Per the Master Fleet Agreement, Vision Fleet absorbs all fuel costs under $4.25 a gallon. Above that, the City
would pay approximately 25% of the increase for prices as it would in its business-as-usual case, stemming from
the improved efficiency and electric miles driven which, due to reducing gallons consumed, gives a natural hedge
to fuel price spikes.
6
As part of the agreement Vision Fleet replaces up to 2 vehicles lost to accidents per year of the program; of note,
to date the program has experienced zero vehicles lost to accidents. The data is not sufficient to indicate if this
reduction in accident rate is due to the improved safety of the vehicles or the telematics and analytics systems.
Page 7
Figure 5. Year 1 Actual Shared Savings and Reimbursements
Vehicle Charging Summary

Indianapolis employees use Freedom Fleet vehicles to deliver a variety of City services, including
building and property inspections, contract monitoring, and non-pursuit law enforcement. At
times, this means that mission needs will require traveling more miles than the PEV battery can
support. Despite these limitations, City employees have gone above and beyond to find creative
ways to maximize their opportunities to plug-in without compromising service.
For example, the Citys drivers nearly always
plug-in when parked at City facilities with
EVSEs, achieving a remarkable 94% plug-in rate
when parked for longer than five minutes.
Employees have also shown a high level of
program buy-in through their commitment to
at-home charging, for which the City/Vision
Fleet reimburses them each month. Home
charging accounts for nearly 70% of all
electricity used to charge these vehicles (Figure
6).
As a result of employees efforts, the City has
achieved a battery utilization rate of 81%,
contributing to a higher rate of electric miles traveled (see Figure 7).7
Figure 6. Total kWh Charged by Location
The battery utilization metric describes the share of a vehicle batterys capacity consumed on an average
weekday. A figure of 100% would indicate that a vehicle recharges equivalent to one full battery per weekday.
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Figure 7. Vehicle utilization summary
These statistics suggest that Indianapolis drivers are

outperforming their counterparts in other city fleets by
driving more electric-miles and utilizing their PEVs.
Freedom Fleet drivers are plugging in at 2.5 times the
municipal and corporate fleet average, and they are
utilizing these vehicles at about double the average of
comparable fleets. This high rate of plugging in and
subsequent electric miles means that the City is
exceeding its program goals. In total, drivers of Freedom
Fleet vehicles have saved the City more than 26,000
gallons of gasoline in Year 1, equating to 230 metric tons
of avoided carbon dioxide emissions (see Figure 8).
Figure 8. Gasoline and GHG Emissions

Saved
Infrastructure Development
The City and Vision Fleet are also working together to intelligently deploy the EVSEs necessary to
support charging for the Freedom Fleet and to maximize the total share of electric-miles traveled.
Vision Fleet takes a comprehensive, data-driven approach to delivering a cost-effective EVSE
infrastructure network. Over the life of the program, the company plans to install approximately
150 new Level 2 charging stations at City work sites.
Notably, each Freedom Fleet PEV does not require its own work site charging station the
program plans to install only 150 charging stations for its 425 vehicles. Vision Fleet has worked
with the City to design the program around the minimum number of EVSEs necessary to achieve
their electric-mile goals. As part of the performance-contracting TCO/mi framework, Vision Fleet
and the City are not incentivized to install hardware in situations where the EVSEs would be
underutilized; instead, the incentive is to maximize electric miles at the lowest overall total cost.
By understanding where vehicles have the most cost effective opportunities to charge, Vision
Fleet and the City are able to maximize electric miles and charging opportunities without the
capital expense of excessive EVSE installations.
Since April 2014, Vision Fleet has worked closely with the City on an optimal EVSE solution, which
includes maximizing utilization of the Citys 30 existing Level 2 charging stations. The team then
prioritized initial vehicle deployments for take-home use cases where drivers can plug in their
vehicles overnight. As Vision Fleet collects usage data on these and future Freedom Fleet
candidates, we can plan for additional locations where new charging stations will help achieve
optimal vehicle charging opportunities. Figure 9 shows an example of the type of data that Vision
Fleet uses to analyze EVSE infrastructure needs. The City has also implemented a new electricity
reimbursement model whereby employees who plug in vehicles at home are reimbursed for all
electricity costs incurred, helping to overcome a common barrier to EVs for fleet operators.8
8
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1093867_chevrolet-volts-in-fleet-use-might-as-well-not-have-a-plug
Page 9
Figure 9. Vehicle Charging Summary
Vision Fleet iQ Analytics Platform

Vision Fleet supports the Freedom Fleet program with a proprietary software and reporting
platform called Vision Fleet iQ (VFiQ) that is designed to ease fleets transition to and use of
AFVs. The VFiQ platform combines vehicle telematics, secure and reliable cloud-based data
management, predictive analytics, and an online fleet management portal. The VFiQ data valuechain starts with an on-board telematics system that ties into each vehicles on-board diagnostic
(OBD) port to collect vehicle performance and routing data. This vehicle-level data is sent
securely to Vision Fleets databases for management and analysis.
The analytics and business intelligence component of the VFiQ platform contains proprietary
algorithms that Vision Fleet uses to gain insights into the real world operation of EVs and drivers
behaviors. The data allows Vision Fleet to provide real-time information and behavioral cues to
fleet managers, drivers, and other end users through an online fleet management dashboard.
This VFiQ dashboard equips fleet managers and key stakeholders to make data-driven decisions
to increase vehicle utilization and reduce overall fleet operating costs. The VFiQ platform also
enables Vision Fleet to measure and validate the operational improvements and financial savings.
Driver Satisfaction
The above operational metrics for the Freedom Fleet deployment provide evidence of the
programs quantitative success. That progress, however, extends beyond the fuel and cost
savings that well-managed AFV fleets can provide. Vision Fleets mission is not only to accelerate
deployment of the future of fleets; it is also about providing fleet drivers with vehicles that make
their day-to-day jobs safe, easy, and efficient. Vision Fleet enables budget-constrained
departments to accelerate their retirement of older, more expensive, and less-safe vehicles and
experience the reliability and safety of advanced technology vehicles. More importantly, Vision
Page 10
Fleet is incentivized to maximize driver satisfaction, as they ultimately determine the programs
success through the efficiency, safety, and plug-in rates associated with their driving habits and
behavior.
Based on to-date data, Freedom Fleet has achieved a high level of acceptance and approval from
participating City drivers. In addition to regular focus groups and individual check-ins, Vision Fleet
distributed an early-2015 survey to all drivers of Freedom Fleet PEVs to measure driver
satisfaction and gather feedback about the vehicles and program. A few highlights from the
survey include the following:
87% strongly agree or agree that the vehicle is safe and reliable
84% strongly agreed or agreed that they are satisfied with the driving performance and
features of the vehicle.
88% strongly agreed or agreed that they have done a good job of plugging their vehicle in
consistently.
82% strongly agreed or agreed that they felt knowledgeable about the vehicle after the
driver training they received.
These numbers are only the starting point: the Vision Fleet team is continually surveying drivers
about their satisfaction and suggestions for improving the program. While the vast majority of
drivers are very satisfied, we are working hard to address all remaining concerns. We want to
help the City select the right vehicle with the right up-fits for the right use case. For example,
Vision Fleet is working with Indianapolis Fleet Services, General Motors engineers, and the Citys
Police Department to create better solutions for securing drivers service weapons. To date, the
Freedom Fleet program has had great success, and the team will work hard to ensure the
continued safety and happiness of City drivers.
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2015 Annual Report

Vision Fleet, Inc.