It was the purpose of this study to acquire an electric vehicle, use it in normal fleet operations on a variety of assignments, and evaluate its effectiveness as part of an institutional fleet. An Electrovan 600 was purchased and assigned to West Virginia University's Physical Plant fleet. It was rotated through a series of selected Physical Plant shops on two week assignments. Data was collected on the electric van's performance and compared to driver rated performance of the shops standard internal combustion (IC) engine van. While the electric van was found to be well suited for most university maintenance assignments, it was evident that specialized training is necessary for drivers. It is also recommended that vehicles not be rotated through a number of drivers. A minimum of assigned drivers saves on maintenance. The EV 600 was found to be in need of engineering refinements, especially in the clutch and other drive train components. This model may not be suitable for general fleet use. However, the electric vehicle in concept proved to be able to handle many fleet assignments. Maintenance savings are apparent. Energy savings were most significant. The EV 600 was operated for 1/4th the energy cost of the standard IC van. (ERA citation 09:010189)


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    Title :

    Electric Vehicle Demonstration Program. Contract Management Summary and Final Techinal Report


    Contributors:
    D. L. DePue (author)

    Publication date :

    1981


    Size :

    23 pages


    Type of media :

    Report


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English