Could the future of eco-friendly transportation be sustainable, compact and low speed?

Designed to operate at speeds up to 25 miles per hour and meet designated safety standards by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), low-speed vehicles (LSVs) offer an enticing alternative to full-sized electric vehicles. LSVs are a specific, federally designated class of vehicles, not to be confused with golf carts. 

These elevated EVs are equipped with standard safety features, and they are street-legal on roads with a posted speed limit of 35 mph or less; making them a key part of any organization’s fleets

— whether it’s facilities and grounds maintenance or public safety and parking enforcement. 

These compact, low-speed EVs support green initiatives and operational efficiency while meeting the growing demand for safe and environmentally responsible transportation options.

Taking Low-Speed Safety Into Consideration

Slower is always safer. With its size, weight and low top speed, the chance of injury or fatality is significantly lower in an LSV than a vehicle traveling at highway speeds. And at 25 mph there is only about a 10% chance of a collision resulting in a pedestrian fatality. 

Slowing vehicles down mitigates the risk of vehicle-to-vehicle collisions, improves pedestrian and cyclist safety and helps alleviate traffic congestion.

LSVs are also required to meet a suite of safety standards. When the NHTSA created the LSV class nearly 25 years ago, it recognized both the utility of smaller, lower speed vehicles and the necessity of safety features tailored to the vehicles and use-cases. 

Certain LSVs are also certified to Federal Motor Vehicles Safety standards for lighting, turn signals, mirrors, braking, windshields, rear visibility, and seat belts and voluntarily meet other safety standards.

For operations where highway speeds are not needed, such as grounds maintenance, facilities operations or urban shuttling services, integrating LSVs isn’t just a smart move, it may be the essential step necessary toward an organization’s sustainable and efficient future. 

In Anaheim, for example, FRAN (Free Rides Around the Neighborhood) has been providing LSV shuttle rides in downtown since 2019

— offering riders a safe, convenient option for getting around downtown while helping to reduce dangerous traffic congestion. 

And in 2022 alone, FRAN was included in the greater Anaheim Transportation Network (ATN) of public transportation options that together removed more than 2.46 million automobile trips from local roadways, creating safer roads for drivers, fleet operators and pedestrians alike.

Meeting a Need for Enhanced Efficiency

Most government organizations do not need vehicle fleets that can travel hundreds of miles. A range of 40-60 miles between charges is typically more than sufficient to get the job done, mileage that LSVs can easily meet. 

And when additional distance is needed, battery options provide greater flexibility. GEMs, for example, have lithium-ion battery packs that provide upwards of 95 miles of range between charges. Incorporating solar panels further extends vehicle range by adding two miles of charge per hour while vehicles are in direct sunlight.

LSVs can travel on all roadways posted 35 mph or less, and with an increasing number of cities across the country reducing in-town speed limits, LSVs can get to nearly anywhere full-sized vehicles can. 

On traffic-controlled streets, compact LSVs can also travel across town just as quickly as a standard vehicle. Plus, their compact footprint allows them to safely and effectively navigate narrow pathways and crowded streets, making them the vehicle of choice for many municipalities, colleges, and universities. 

In fact, LSVs have been a popular shuttling and utility vehicle solution on college and university campuses across the nation for decades. Municipalities looking to implement EVs into their fleets are also finding that LSVs are all they need for parking enforcement and security – especially in bustling metro areas that offer dining and shopping downtown.

Despite their small footprint, LSVs are also highly capable, ensuring organizational productivity is never sacrificed. With varying models that can carry two to six comfortably, there is ample room for the entire crew. Cargo boxes and beds of varying sizes are also available providing a payload of up to 1,400 pounds.

Low Operational Costs, Especially in an Electrified Environment 

As gas vehicles begin to reach the end of their useful lives, making the transition to electric fleets could provide significant savings. A survey of fleets in ten of Arizona’s largest municipalities found that those cities could save a total of nearly $80 million in lifetime vehicle ownership costs just by replacing light-duty vehicles in their fleets with commercial EVs. 

Going a step further with low-speed electric vehicles, municipalities may see even greater savings. GEMs, for instance, can operate at about $0.03 per mile. And with fewer moving parts than an internal combustion engine, they also require far less maintenance, providing increased uptime and profits for operations.

LSVs are also overcoming one of the largest hinderances in going electric: infrastructure changes. While full-size commercial electric vehicles often need additional charging capabilities, many LSVs can be charged sufficiently overnight with a standard 120- or 110-volt AC outlet.

For operations that do require quicker charging capabilities, additional options are available – with many states and counties providing incentives to help with charging infrastructure.

A Growing Need for Sustainable Transportation

IBM research found that a majority of organizations

— 86%

— have a sustainability strategy in place, however, only 35% have taken action. After all, going green demands transformation, which takes time and often a great deal of consideration and investment. 

But the future is electric and optimizing state and local government fleets with a safe and cost-effective low-speed EV, is an easy and smart first step toward sustainability.

Recently, Free Rides Everywhere Downtown (FRED), an established program in San Diego that offers free shuttle services with LSVs throughout their downtown, has avoided as many greenhouse gas emissions in one year as are sequestered by 1,518 acres of forest. And with its small-scale footprint, LSVs pull less electricity from the power grid while charging compared to their full-sized counterparts.

An early adopter of low-speed electric vehicles, Sandia National Laboratories has a first-hand understanding of the benefits of electrifying their campus fleets – which will be highlighted in part two of LSVs: The Unexpected EV Government Fleets Need?

About the Author: Byron Dudley is the director of Government Programs for Waev, Inc.