All-electric delivery trucks hit the streets of Columbus

Frito-Lay North America division, the US$13 billion convenient foods business unit of PepsiCo, has started rolling out some of its fully electric delivery trucks in Columbus.
March 1, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
3488 Frito-Lay North America division, the US$13 billion convenient foods business unit of 3493 PepsiCo, has started rolling out some of its fully electric delivery trucks in Columbus. The first 10 trucks which are going into service will ultimately be part of the largest planned fleet of commercial all-electric trucks in North America.  This year, Columbus is one of three cities in the US, along with New York City and Ft. Worth, Texas, to deploy the vehicles with plans to roll out an additional 155 trucks in 2011.

Once the planned 176 electric trucks are deployed, Frito-Lay will eliminate the need for 500,000 gallons of fuel annually. Each truck emits 75 per cent less greenhouse gases than a conventional diesel truck.

"The electric vehicle programme builds on a long-standing commitment by Frito-Lay North America and its parent company PepsiCo to environmental sustainability," said Mike O'Connell, director of fleet for Frito Lay North America. "With the seventh largest privately owned fleet in the US, we have set a goal of becoming the most fuel efficient fleet in the country, and these vehicles give us an opportunity to use the latest advances in transportation technology as a significant way to reduce our environmental impact."

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Green Light WIM
    July 30, 2012
    Beginning in the 1990s, Oregon was one of the first US states to use weigh-in-motion scales and transponder-based systems to enable trucks to avoid having to stop at weigh stations. Its Green Light preclearance system soon became a model for similar deployments throughout the country. Today, Green Light annually weighs and screens 1.6 million trucks as they approach 21 Oregon weigh stations and it preclears 1.5 million of them.
    Read More
  • New York's congestion charging scheme is finally underway
    January 6, 2025
    First US city to introduce such a scheme: drivers now pay $9 per day
    Read More
  • ARTBA proposes path to breaking gridlock on transportation funding
    March 13, 2015
    The American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) has outlined a detailed proposal it believes could end the political impasse over how to fund future federal investments in state highway, bridge and transit capital projects. The ‘Getting beyond gridlock’ plan would marry a 15 cents-per-gallon increase in the federal gas and diesel motor fuels tax with a 100 per cent offsetting federal tax rebate for middle and lower income Americans for six years. The plan, ARTBA says, would fund a US$401 bil
    Read More
  • Solar studs a cost-effective alternative to street lighting?
    July 30, 2012
    Road traffic accidents have an enormous impact on society in terms of human loss, pain and suffering and a significant cost to the economy, the individual and their families. Accident rates on South Africa's roads are among the highest in the world and cost the country in the region of $163 million each year. The former head of the Department of Transport (DoT), Dr Kwazi Mbanjwa, described the situation as "carnage on our roads", with over 500,000 accidents and 10,000 fatalities per annum and the number of
    Read More

Highlighted Content