What drives fleets? Organizations' perceived barriers and motivators for alternative-fuel vehicles

Although a transition to zero-emissions vehicles is needed to meet climate change targets in the road transportation sector, there is relatively less understanding regarding fleet buyers. We contribute to this literature via qualitative application of a broad framework. Through semistructured interviews with 27 participants from 24 organizations in the Canadian province of British Columbia, we identify barriers and motivators regarding alternative-fuel fleet vehicle adoption, including electric, hydrogen, and natural gas vehicles. The most frequently mentioned motivators include: internal support for environmental sustainability, operations and maintenance savings, positive impact on reputation, vehicle purchase incentives, and a positive history of alternative fuel vehicle use. The most commonly mentioned barriers include: high capital cost of vehicles, the limited market availability of AFVs, vehicle range concerns, and a lack of charging or fueling infrastructure. Results also demonstrate that barriers and motivators tend to vary by fleet size, and organization type, namely private versus public.