Preparing emergency services for the fleet of the future

With budgets getting tighter each year, emergency services are looking at ways to reduce costs and innovate, so in the lead up to this year’s Emergency Services Show, I test the temperature for today’s fleet managers.

Starting with Police Scotland’s Stewart Taylor who chairs the National Association of Police Fleet Managers (NAPFM). He told a recent conference: “The environment in which police fleets operates is undergoing significant transformation.” He cautioned that as fleets transition to electric vehicles “we are collectively facing new considerations around infrastructure, operational capability, cost management and resilience. These pressures sit alongside  the already demanding requirements of delivering critical frontline services. No single organisation can navigate this change in isolation, he concluded.

He’s right and his observations were reflected in discussions elsewhere in the conference with police reform central to that, it could potentially see a reduction in the number of police forces. Former Met Commissioner Lord Bernard Hogan-Howe is likely to publish the results of his work later this year.

Technology changes are also a big part of the fleet world, with Google backed WAYMO autonomous vehicles part of the show floor at the NAPFM event – they will be at The Emergency Services Show too, with the team speaking on the Emergency Tech Leaders’ stage on 17 September. It’s sure to be a packed session as emergency responders look to plan for this new fleet to hit the capital’s roads in the next 12 months.

The drive for connected vehicles continues with Haas Alert’s Safety Cloud technology on show at NAPFM before heading to the NEC in September. This goes alongside some recently announced work on developing a national lighting standard for police fleet. Jason Powell, fleet lead for the Met Police and the National Police Chiefs’ Council is leading some interesting work here and will be sharing that on stage with a must-see ‘in conversation’ session with Catherine Levin on 16 September.

But of course the big topic is transition to electric. The EV transition story continues apace with great work going on in places like Avon and Somerset Police with Ben Mohide. I’ve been reporting on the motor trade for decades and it’s been fascinating to see the changing landscape of the police fleet. I can see the EV transition maturing with, for example, the new Dolphin EV from this Chinese manufacturer BYD being trialled by National Highways. Volvo has the new all electric EX40 and will be showing its latest offering to the blue light sector when it returns to The Emergency Services Show this year.

Ineos Automotive continues to gain traction in the 999 sector. I hear that some fleet managers have been averse to handing back their demonstration vehicles, they’ve proved that popular. The Grenadier and Quartermaster models have been approved for use by the emergency services after passing the tough ‘Met Test’. With Staffordshire Police showing their liveried Grenadier at the Commercial Vehicle Show earlier this year, I look forward to seeing what they bring to their stand at the September show.

Fleet of the future is a new content offering at The Emergency Services Show this year. Located at the front of the hall, this new stage provides 18 sessions covering a wide range of fleet-related topics. To listen in and join the conversation, register for your free ticket here.