The challenge
The City of Houston is committed to identifying air quality issues and targeting solutions for the improvement of the city's health and environment.
The city's Fleet Management Department needed to replace its aging diesel-powered refuse truck fleet and wanted to adopt the latest environmentally friendly refuse truck technology: a hybrid transmission produced by an LNE Group client.
This hybrid technology is designed to reduce refuse truck emissions, maintenance costs, and fuel consumption by 45% (compared to trucks with standard transmissions). This is a win-win for the city: environmentally-friendly and lower operating costs. Houston's budget required a subsidy to afford the new refuse trucks so they turned to LNE Group for support.
Our approach
LNE Group's first responsibility was identifying a government program to supplement Houston's own funds to acquire up to 20 new refuse trucks (at a cost of $8 million). LNE Group selected a Texas grant program that encourages large diesel fleet owners to replace diesel powered vehicles with alternative fuel or hybrid vehicles.
Working closely with city leaders, as well as representatives of the refuse truck company and its partners, LNE Group developed an economically-compelling application for Texas to consider.