The DC Strategic Fleet Electrification Plan received a Merit Award at the 2025–2026 American Council of Engineering Companies of Metropolitan Washington (ACEC/MW) Engineering Excellence Awards Gala on December 16. The plan provides a detailed strategy to transition the District’s 3,000 vehicle fleet to electric counterparts in a phased manner that optimizes energy management and capital expenditures to meet the District’s goal of decarbonizing its fleet by 2035.
VHB, in collaboration with Arcadis U.S., Inc. and Precision Systems Inc., led the multidisciplinary project involving a team of civil, mechanical, and electrical engineers to develop a data-informed strategy to transition the District’s 3,000 public fleet vehicles to electric alternatives. The fleet includes essential light-duty and heavy-duty public service vehicles that support 58 District agencies and consume more than 2.7 million gallons of fuel annually.
“Replacing conventional gasoline and diesel vehicles with electric alternatives will drastically improve air quality across the District’s densely populated neighborhoods,” said Joe Wanat, VHB Project Manager. “The advanced onboard telematics systems and sensors in each EV will provide a wealth of granular vehicle utilization and maintenance data to help manage the fleet in a data-informed way.”
The Strategic Fleet Electrification Plan also addresses the infrastructure required to support this transition, including needs for more EV charging stations and utility upgrades across 86 fleet parking and operations sites. Beyond infrastructure needs, the project evaluated long-term costs and benefits. Full electrification would reduce fleet-related carbon dioxide emissions by 73 percent, significantly improving air quality.
Learn more about VHB’s Energy capabilities.
