Samaritan’s First Electric Van Brings Quieter, Cleaner Deliveries

Phil Leonard’s job just got smoother and a lot quieter.

Last week, Samaritan’s Corvallis courier service received its first fully electric vehicle: a 2022 Ford E-Transit cargo van.

Gone are the grumbling engine starts and the rumbling of the driveline through Corvallis streets. Those sounds have been replaced by near silence, occasionally interrupted by the soft whir of regenerative braking.

“There is far less fatigue on my driver,” said Todd Heustis, SHS fleet director. “You don’t have the vibration of a normal vehicle, and you don’t have the constant back and forth between gas and brake. That may not sound like much, but when you’re stopping and going all day in traffic, it makes a difference.”

The van will never need an oil change or a gas fill-up, and it likely won’t need a brake job, according to Heustis. It was purchased like-new through a local auction service with just 94 miles on it.

“We got a steal on that thing, which fit within my budget,” Heustis said.

Heustis estimates it will save $3,600 a year in fuel costs. That savings alone will pay for the van over its lifetime. Charging costs about $1 per day for the 250 days a year the van is in service.

“We’re finding that we use about 30% to 40% of the battery throughout the day,” Heustis said. “I don’t think we’ll ever hit the 150,000-mile mark to need to change out coolants or anything like that because last-mile vehicles just don’t go that far.”

Last-mile vehicles are those that used to complete the final leg of a delivery, for Samaritan that is often transporting items from distribution hubs to hospitals and clinics.

Heustis estimates they’ll save $5,000 in the first year alone, with savings increasing over time as maintenance costs rise for traditional vehicles.

The electric van is part of a broader sustainability effort led by Heustis transitioning away from full ICE, internal combustion engine, vehicles to Hybrid and BEV, battery electric vehicle, technology. That effort began with replacing some delivery vehicles with tried-and-true Toyota Prius hybrids.

“We’re seeing 45 miles per gallon on these compared to the 20 we were getting before,” he said.

“We’ve also added Sienna hybrid vans.”  Toyota sienna hybrids AWD get 36 both highway and city driving and with Toyota’s AWD technology these vans have, proved invaluable during the ice storm two winters ago.

“We were able to help transport staff back and forth,” Heustis said. “Those vans were brand new at the time. That ice storm was gnarly.”  Further, “Couriers state that Toyota Siennas  will track straight and true through any weather.”  A bit of an exaggeration but they are a very capable vehicle.

A second electric van is planned for the Albany route.

“It’s another short route with lots of stop-and-go traffic that gives us poor fuel efficiency,” Heustis said. “So this should save us about the same. I’m also looking at continuing to bring in hybrids and possibly another dedicated EV for some of our drug delivery routes.”

The biggest challenge for those routes is range.

“We need to see 250 miles of realistic range for those, and I’m not sure we’re quite there yet,” Heustis said. “But we’ll be evaluating that next year. Lots of new vehicles are coming onto the market. Once the right one is available, we’ll start making that shift.”