City fleet 

• Increase the average fuel efficiency of municipal fleet vehicles
  • Commit to diesel-electric hybrids buses for future purchases
  • Commit to increasing number of hybrid and/or alternatively fueled vehicles
  • Retrofit existing diesel vehicles
  • Commit to purchasing smaller, more efficient vehicles
  • Idle reduction campaign/education
  • Driving behavior education
• Analyze vehicle usage in city departments to reduce the number vehicles in the city fleet
• Prioritize use of efficient vehicles
• Decrease annual vehicle miles traveled
• Shorten/reduce routes, combine trips
• Switch to cleaner fuel vehicles (e.g. electricity, biodiesel, hydrogen, CNG, ethanol

Employee business travel

• Reduce city business-air travel – teleconference or video conference when possible
• Purchase bicycles for employee use and encourage city workers to use them for local meetings or errands

Employee commutes

• Incent use of public transportation, biking and carpooling for employee commuting
• Discounted public transportation passes
• Parking cash out – get cash value equivalent to cost of parking spot for not driving
• Provide indoor bicycle parking
• Provide shower/locker room facilities
• Incent purchase of more fuel efficient cars by employees
• Facilitate telecommuting by purchasing
• Provide a four day work week option

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Additional resources and best practices

US EPA Diesel Retrofit Technology Verification Program

Local best practices

• 23 Northeast Ohio communities have replaced fleet vehicles with more efficient vehicles
• 25 cities have implemented an anti-idling policy for fleet vehicles
• Solon has:
  • 4 hybrid vehicles in its city fleet
  • installed bike lanes on all newly constructed roads
  • worked with RTA to expand bus routes and put in a bus stop
  • installed sidewalks in all areas of the city
• Independence:
  • uses hybrid vehicles in its fleet
  • is implementing a policy where every time a fleet vehicle is switched out, it is  replaced by an electric vehicle because they are good for local patrolling
• Lakewood is retrofitting the exhaust systems on its city vehicles to reduce emissions