Future Smart City Transportation Systems

Electrifying freight transportation offers tremendous opportunities in the fight against global warming. Transportation accounts for 30% of the world's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, 24% of which is attributed to medium- and heavy-duty trucks. However, there are significant financial and regulatory barriers towards electrification.

Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) - the leading commercial vehicles manufacturer for trucks and school buses in North America - has tasked the Capstone team to identify policy solutions and craft an engagement strategy that will foster public and private sector cooperation, achieve win-win opportunities to advance an accelerated rate of truck electrification, and position DTNA to support cities’ sustainability goals.

Within the cities of Toronto, Mexico City and Portland, the team conducted an original analysis of the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) to determine when TCO parity will be reached between electric and diesel vehicles for walk-in delivery vans, school buses and Class 6 distribution trucks. Accounting for the TCO analysis, prior policy interventions, and the political landscape, five proposals were presented for consideration:

• Voucher Incentives for EV Delivery Vans (Portland);
• Battery Leasing Risk Sharing Model (Portland; potential to scale up to other cities);
• Low-Interest Financing to Freight SME’s (Mexico City);
• Subsidy Program/Bulk Purchase for School Buses (Portland / Toronto; potential to scale up to other cities);
• Strategic Replacement Plan for Municipal Fleets (Portland / Toronto).
  
   

The policy solutions were designed taking into consideration their feasibility, defined by the existing regulatory landscape, political will, available funding and operation complexity, and impact, measured by the number of electric vehicles the policy would help put on the road.