A fleet of electric Peterbilt 579EV Class 8 trucks is being put to work on container-hauling routes at the Port of Vancouver as part of a new, data-sharing pilot program designed to measure real-world benefits of electric drayage trucks on first-mile delivery routes.
Most Electrek readers probably understand “last-mile delivery,” but “first-mile delivery” may be less familiar. At its most basic, it’s the movement of containers from ports or manufacturing centers to nearby rail yards and truck terminals before they begin the next leg of their journey to warehouses and distribution centers. These trucks travel short, predictable routes under heavy payloads all day every day, often returning to a “home” lot at night, making first-mile drayage one of the most promising applications for electrification.
That’s the generally accepted theory, anyway – and this new ELECTRA pilot aims to prove that the math maths.
Launched through Canada’s ELECTRA (ELEctric Container TRucking progrAm), the new pilot is offering five port shipping companies heavily subsidized 60-month lease terms on new Class 8 electric semi trucks and their supporting charging infrastructure. The ELECTRA deal also covers associated maintenance costs, technical support, and technician training to ensure the maximum utilization for each truck. That’s a critical piece of this, because when it comes to EVs: the more you drive, the better it gets.
