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You’re not stuck because there aren’t enough chargers. Dr. Sheldon Williamson, professor at Ontario Tech, explains why the real constraint is when and how power hits the grid, not where vehicles sit. Chris Brandt hosts this episode of The Fleet covering smart charging, grid stress, incentives, battery tech, and why tomorrow’s fleet leaders will need energy literacy as much as operational know-how.   Chapters: 0:00 EV Charging Solutions Require Energy Literacy 1:25 Sheldon Williamson Explains Fleet Electrification 2:30 Why EV Adoption Slowed and What’s Next 4:45 Incentives, Policy, and What’s Actually Blocking Progress 7:20 Charging Density, Battery Cost, and Vehicle Economics 10:10 Charging Is a Scheduling Problem, Not Infrastructure 11:55 Lithium Dependence, China, and Battery Supply Chains 16:30 Post-Lithium Batteries: Sodium, Potassium, and What’s Next 19:25 Hybrid Battery Systems: Power vs Energy Chemistries 23:10 Range Anxiety, Charging Distance, and Human Behavior 29:45 Infrastructure Strategy: Buildings, Utilities, and Government’s Role 36:25 Energy Literacy: Education, Confidence, and Systems Thinking 41:10 Electrifying Aviation, Renewables, and Real Emissions Impact 51:25 Fleets as Grid Assets: Vehicle-to-Grid and Demand Response This episode of The Fleet is brought to you in partnership with Element Fleet Management. If your organization depends on a fleet of vehicles, it’s time to think about your fleet as a strategic asset. Element delivers end-to-end solutions that reduce costs, improve productivity and support sustainability goals. From vehicle acquisition to electrification and everything in between, Element’s data-driven approach helps organizations optimize performance and keep their drivers safe and supported on the road. To learn more about how Element can move your fleet forward, visit elementfleet.com Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Vehicles were designed for an old era of transportation. The modern fleet demands a redesign. In this episode of The Fleet, Will Graylin, Founder & CEO of IndiGO Technologies, explores how today’s fleet needs have outgrown traditional vehicle assumptions, and why electrification works best when vehicles, charging, and deployment are designed together as a system. From last-mile delivery and charging access to community-level operations, this conversation reframes EV adoption as an opportunity to rethink how fleets are built and deployed for today’s realities.   Key Moments: 0:00 Why EV Architecture Has to Change 1:20 Will Graylin is Reinventing the Wheel for Fleets 3:55 The Fleet EV Problem (Last-Mile + Charging) 11:30 Fleet Electrification Needs Systems Thinking 14:10 Smart Wheels Explained 18:00 Modular EV Architecture 22:10 Accessibility and New Fleet Use Cases 24:25 Why OEMs Struggle to Change 28:20 The Model T Lesson for EVs 32:10 What Fleet Managers Should Evaluate 35:30 EV Charging as the Bottleneck 38:00 Safety, Visibility, and Vehicle Size 41:10 EV Fleet Ownership and Business Models 45:00 Electrification-as-a-Service (EASE) 46:05 Go Loop and Community Fleets 49:35 The Future of EV Fleets   If your organization depends on a fleet of vehicles, it’s time to think about your fleet as a strategic asset. Element delivers end-to-end solutions that reduce costs, improve productivity and support sustainability goals. From vehicle acquisition to electrification and everything in between, Element’s data-driven approach helps organizations optimize performance and keep their drivers safe and supported on the road. To learn more about how Element can move your fleet forward, visit elementfleet.com Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The world’s next fleet evolution isn’t just electric - it’s contextual. Chris Brandt sits down with Dominique Kwong, Founder and CEO of Damon, to explore how “data with context” can prevent accidents before they happen, how micro-mobility is reshaping last-mile delivery, and why Gen Z may push fleets toward an access-over-ownership model faster than expected.   Key Moments: 0:00 Why Contextual Data Matters for Fleets 1:05 Dominique Kwong Explains Safety Through Knowledge 5:08 Building Damon 6:28 Safety Systems in Action 12:08 When Software Becomes a Safety System 13:48 How Data Changes Driver Behavior Before Accidents Happen 18:08 Why Fleets Need Shared, Connected Data 23:48 The Last-Mile Problem and the Rise of Micro-Mobility Fleets 30:48 What Asia Gets Right About Mobility and Infrastructure 35:48 Gen Z, Shared Vehicles, and the End of Ownership 40:13 A Vehicle-Agnostic Safety Intelligence Platform 45:28 The Three Priorities for the Future of Fleet Safety 49:33 What’s Next in Fleet Safety? Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

From vertiports to predictive maintenance, Aviation is entering a new era - and the supply chain is under pressure. In this episode of The Fleet, WestJet’s Director of Supply Chain, Shail Oza, explains how electric aviation, flight analytics, and new infrastructure will transform airline operations.   Key Moments (audio versions): 0:00 The Airline Industry Is About to Transform 1:33 Shail Oza Explains the Aviation Supply Chain 4:44 Standing Up a New Aircraft Fleet From Scratch 8:44 Real-Time Aircraft Data and Predictive Maintenance 12:25 24/7 Maintenance, Uptime, and Inventory Strategy 14:10 Pandemic Shocks, Tariffs, and Fragile Aviation Supply Chains 23:44 Data, Analytics, and Making Maintenance a Revenue Protector 29:49 Electric Aircraft, eVTOL, and the Next Wave of Fleets 35:50 Drones, Zipline, and Last-Mile Delivery by Air 40:05 Vertiports, Backyard Launchpads, and New Infrastructure 44:25 How Fleet Managers Can Prepare for Aviation's Next Era   Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What creates good city infrastructure? What makes it fail? Professor Shauna Brail from the University of Toronto joins The Fleet to unpack why cities remain the beating heart of innovation, what makes infrastructure succeed or fail, and how human-centric design is quietly redefining mobility. From post-industrial skylines to the rise of third spaces and multimodal fleets, this episode explores what future-ready cities can teach every leader about building resilient systems that move people and ideas forward.   Key Moments: 0:00 Shauna Brail Explains How Cities Never Die 1:30 Why Urban Areas Still Matter 3:48 How Modern Cities Are Formed From Industrial Roots 8:24 The Cost of Old Urban Planning 10:55 Path Dependence - You Can’t Just Create a Tech City 16:29 How to Redefine Your City - Urban Comeback Stories 20:25 Remote Work and the Future of Cities 27:30 Third Spaces and Workplaces Beyond the Office 32:24 Human-Centric Streets and Urban Mobility Fleets 39:26 Wins and Mistakes of Long-Term City Planning   Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Fleet leaders face chaos. Use analytics to thrive in it. On this episode of The Fleet, Steve Jastrow, SVP of Client Advisory and Analytics at Element Fleet Management, joins host Chris Brandt to explain how mobility chaos is an opportunity. Explore how AI-driven analytics and camera technology are reshaping safety, efficiency, and the entire culture of fleet management. From leasing versus ownership decisions to EV adoption and autonomous vehicle realities, Steve shares why the next decade will belong to data-centric fleets that understand their drivers as well as their vehicles.   Key Moments:   0:00 Data Opportunity in Fleet Chaos 1:00 From Finance to Fleet Leadership 2:40 Tariffs, AI, and Electrification 4:40 Leading Teams Through Uncertainty 6:10 Replacement Discipline and the Supply Chain Hangover 8:30 Leasing vs. Owning: The Five-Year Electricity Question 10:40 The Realities of Electrification 13:30 Tariffs, Politics, and the Next Market Cycle 16:20 AI, Analytics, and the 50 Percent Driver Factor 20:00 Safety Doesn’t Happen by Accident 25:20 Autonomy and the Road Ahead 33:20 Partnerships, AI Tools, and Accelerate Intelligence 42:00 Benchmarking and the Art of Possible 44:40 The Next Frontier of Fleet Efficiency If your organization depends on a fleet of vehicles, it’s time to think about your fleet as a strategic asset. Element delivers end-to-end solutions that reduce costs, improve productivity and support sustainability goals. From vehicle acquisition to electrification and everything in between, Element’s data-driven approach helps organizations optimize performance and keep their drivers safe and supported on the road. To learn more about how Element can move your fleet forward, visit elementfleet.com. Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Most companies say they’ll go electric someday. AstraZeneca didn’t wait.   Procurement leader Alejandra Torres shows how her team at AstraZeneca built a carbon-zero fleet across Latin America - proving that going electric isn’t just sustainable, it’s smart business. From cutting fuel costs to turning sustainability into ROI, here’s why waiting for the market is the real mistake.   Key Moments:   0:00 Why Waiting for the EV Market Is a Mistake 2:32 Alejandra Torres Explains the Procurement and Sustainability Connection 4:27 Building Trust and Partnerships Inside Procurement 9:54 How Transparency and Innovation Drive Supplier Success 11:07 AstraZeneca’s Carbon-Zero Goal and Global Fleet Transition 14:42 Making the EV Business Case With Finance and HR 17:23 Alejandra Torres on Getting Employees to Want EVs 20:54 Fixing Infrastructure Gaps and Charging Challenges in Latin America 24:33 Scaling EV Programs Regionally 30:10 What to Do or Avoid When Electrifying a Fleet 35:58 Holding Suppliers Accountable for Emissions and Certifications 40:06 Business Travel and Going Zero Print Without Losing Impact 45:35 How to Get to Carbon Zero If your organization depends on a fleet of vehicles, it’s time to think about your fleet as a strategic asset. Element delivers end-to-end solutions that reduce costs, improve productivity and support sustainability goals. From vehicle acquisition to electrification and everything in between, Element’s data-driven approach helps organizations optimize performance and keep their drivers safe and supported on the road. To learn more about how Element can move your fleet forward, visit  elementfleet.com Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Real freedom isn’t parked in your driveway. It arrives there when you need it to. This week on The Fleet, Chris Brandt sits down with Sampo Hietanen, founder of MaaS Global and Aspectu, and the original mind behind Mobility as a Service. Together, they explore how MaaS is transforming not just transportation, but the entire fabric of urban life. Where fleets, data, and design come together to move people more intelligently and sustainably. Hietanen explains how the shift from ownership to access could redefine personal freedom, reduce inefficiency, and unlock the full potential of shared mobility as this episode dives deep into a simple but radical truth: the future of movement isn’t about owning more… It's about moving better.   Key Moments: 00:00 Sampo Hietanen Defines Mobility As A Service 01:08 Rethinking Car Ownership Freedom 03:18 Ownership Problems and Shared Mobility Solutions 08:13 How Cities Will Drive the Mobility Revolution 13:31 The Future of Autonomous Fleets 17:51 Developing Regions Will Leapfrog Traditional Transit 23:36 Modern Transportation Starts Luxury Not Utility 33:43 MaaS Redefines Efficiency Past Transportation 40:04 Safety, Automation, and the MaaS Human Factor 46:35 Mobility as a Service Ecosystem 50:38 Mobility as a Service Policies 51:39 Embracing the Future Freedoms of MaaS   If your organization depends on a fleet of vehicles, it’s time to think about your fleet as a strategic asset. Element delivers end-to-end solutions that reduce costs, improve productivity and support sustainability goals. From vehicle acquisition to electrification and everything in between, Element’s data-driven approach helps organizations optimize performance and keep their drivers safe and supported on the road. To learn more about how Element can move your fleet forward, visit elementfleet.com. Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Should we be preparing for the autonomous electric fleet revolution… or has it already arrived?   Chris sits down with Dr. Sven Beiker (Silicon Valley Mobility; ex-BMW, Stanford CARS, McKinsey) to cut through hype and explain where EVs and AVs actually stand — and what it will take to scale them.   You’ll hear why the “gold rush” era of autonomy is over, what’s working shockingly well (hello, robo-taxis?), and why the real bottleneck is systems change: charging reliability, “machine-readable roads,” policy frameworks, and industry standards.   We also dive deep on the fleet advantage — how professional operations, tighter use cases, and better utilization can unlock the biggest near-term wins in safety, uptime, and cost.   If you want to stay up-to-date on fleet management directly from industry-leading experts, hit subscribe and share with someone working on fleet electrification or autonomy. Key Moments: 00:00 Dr. Sven Beiker 04:04 Current State of Electrification and Autonomy 06:40 Challenges in Infrastructure and Standardization 18:33 Public Perception and Safety Concerns 25:09 Future of Fleet Vehicles 27:05 Fleet Operations and Infrastructure 30:42 Hydrogen vs. Electric Vehicles 37:25 Global Advances in Battery Technology 40:51 Adoption of Autonomous Technology in Fleets 47:53 Expert Advice for Fleet Managers   If your organization depends on a fleet of vehicles, it’s time to think about your fleet as a strategic asset. Element delivers end-to-end solutions that reduce costs, improve productivity and support sustainability goals. From vehicle acquisition to electrification and everything in between, Element’s data-driven approach helps organizations optimize performance and keep their drivers safe and supported on the road. To learn more about how Element can move your fleet forward, visit elementfleet.com. Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The road ahead for fleet management is changing fast — and this is your first look. Get a glimpse of the big questions host Chris Brandt will be tackling with industry-leaders, including: How will electrification and autonomous vehicles transform your operations? What new risks and opportunities will global supply chains, AI, and connected vehicles create? And what strategies will fleet leaders need to stay ahead? ‘From success stories to emerging technologies, The Fleet is here to help you navigate what’s next. New episodes release every other Tuesday. Subscribe now and get ready for the journey. --- If your organization depends on a fleet of vehicles, it’s time to think about your fleet as a strategic asset. Element delivers end-to-end solutions that reduce costs, improve productivity and support sustainability goals. From vehicle acquisition to electrification and everything in between, Element’s data-driven approach helps organizations optimize performance and keep their drivers safe and supported on the road. To learn more about how Element can move your fleet forward, visit elementfleet.com. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What does it take to be nominated as Driver of the Year? 6,000,000 accident-free miles in a career is a good start. Jan Quarnberg is a driver for Barney Trucking and was recently selected as a Lytx Driver of the Year. He’s been a professional truck driver for over 40 years and has received numerous awards throughout his career, including the Lytx/DriveCam Good Driving Award and the Glen Barney Haul of Fame award. In the 6,000,000 miles that he’s driven, Quarnberg has never been involved in an accident and has never had any driving violations -- an incredibly impressive record. On this show, we talk to all kinds of managers, executives, and industry thought leaders, but rarely do we get to sit down with a driver doing the hard work every day. In today’s conversation, Jan shares with us how he got into trucking, what his day-to-day looks like, and his thoughts on safe driving. Plus, he shares some of the craziest things he’s seen on the road in his career. --- The Fleet is brought to you by our friends at Lytx. Whether you manage a fleet of five vehicles or 5,000 – Lytx is here to help.  Lytx fleet dash cams are powered by best in class machine vision and artificial intelligence designed to help commercial fleets and drivers operate more safely, efficiently, and profitably. Go to Lytx.com/thefleet to learn more today. --- The Fleet is created by the team at Mission. To learn more about our creative studio and network of podcasts, go to mission.org.

For much of our show, we’ve focused on our market here in the United States, but what about the rest of the world? Fleet Managers that get assigned to international markets quickly learn just how different other countries operate compared to the United States.  Size of roads, availability of refueling stations, access to repairs and maintenance, laws and regulations, traffic density, and accessways, it’s endless, the myriad of systems in play around the world.  Meet Raj Bajaj, Vice President for Webfleet Solutions International, a Bridgestone Tire company. They are on a mission to make it easier to operate a fleet anywhere in the world. And to do this, it requires highly sophisticated and localized data plus an intimate knowledge of how each country operates.  All of this data is used to gather better insights to make better recommendations on how to more efficiently operate a fleet.  If you’ve ever been curious about how international markets prepare for maintenance, how critical infrastructure around the world plays a massive role in how goods are shipped or wanted to know why a tire company would want to buy a software company, this is your episode. --- The Fleet is brought to you by our friends at Lytx. Whether you manage a fleet of five vehicles or 5,000 – Lytx is here to help.  Lytx fleet dash cams are powered by best in class machine vision and artificial intelligence designed to help commercial fleets and drivers operate more safely, efficiently, and profitably. Go to Lytx.com/thefleet to learn more today. --- The Fleet is created by the team at Mission. To learn more about our creative studio and network of podcasts, go to mission.org.

Where does a city turn in order to make their roads safer? Who does a private fleet call to improve driving conditions for its drivers?  Because these questions went largely unanswered, a new organization was created to better address solutions for safer roads. From companies like ABInbev and UPS to city governments, Together for Safer Roads, or TSR for short, is a global coalition on a mission to create safer roads. David Braunstein is the President of TSR and he joins us today to discuss how the organization has been making impacts for decades.  From redesigning roads and intersections, to providing data and data collection systems to improve civil engineering decisions, TSR is playing a part. David also discusses how TSR funding helps to enable smaller fleets to gain access to new technologies like Machine Vision or In-Cab cameras to help improve driver safety.  And the impacts from these solutions aren’t just local. They are global. Learn more on today’s episode with David Braunstein. --- The Fleet is brought to you by our friends at Lytx. Whether you manage a fleet of five vehicles or 5,000 – Lytx is here to help.  Lytx fleet dash cams are powered by best in class machine vision and artificial intelligence designed to help commercial fleets and drivers operate more safely, efficiently, and profitably. Go to Lytx.com/thefleet to learn more today. --- The Fleet is created by the team at Mission. To learn more about our creative studio and network of podcasts, go to mission.org.

We are psychologically incapable of putting down the phone.  That might sound horrific, but Dr. Paul Atchley, a Professor of Psychology at the University of South Florida, has studied human behavior for decades and he’s convinced distracted driving is part of our everyday lives, that people want more entertainment and connectivity options while driving, and most importantly, we as a culture find it acceptable to exhibit these behaviors.  So what can be done?  On this episode of The Fleet, Paul educates us about distracted driving from the perspective of our brain. He explains why we behave the way we do, and how to prevent distraction. He tells stories of international policies that are much more effective at preventing distracted driving accidents and how some cities and private companies are doing it too. --- The Fleet is brought to you by our friends at Lytx. Whether you manage a fleet of five vehicles or 5,000 – Lytx is here to help.  Lytx fleet dash cams are powered by best in class machine vision and artificial intelligence designed to help commercial fleets and drivers operate more safely, efficiently, and profitably. Go to Lytx.com/thefleet to learn more today. --- The Fleet is created by the team at Mission. To learn more about our creative studio and network of podcasts, go to mission.org.

Driver shortage?  There’s no driver shortage.  So why is the trucking industry having such a hard time filling its open jobs?  According to today’s guest, the cause is not a shortage of drivers, but an abundance of options.  Joining the show is FreightWaves’ Grace Sharkey. FreightWaves is like the Bloomberg of transportation -- they report on all the logistics, trends, and news that fuel the global supply chain. In today’s conversation, Grace uncovers the abundance of opportunity available to drivers today, and why the antiquated industry is struggling to meet drivers on their terms. She also discusses how she thinks labor wages will roll back and how new innovations will make shipping easier and possibly less expensive. Plus, find out what she thinks happened to her Beyonce facemask that just never arrived and what happens to your goods that just magically disappear in transit. --- The Fleet is brought to you by our friends at Lytx. Whether you manage a fleet of five vehicles or 5,000 – Lytx is here to help.  Lytx fleet dash cams are powered by best in class machine vision and artificial intelligence designed to help commercial fleets and drivers operate more safely, efficiently, and profitably. Go to Lytx.com/thefleet to learn more today. --- The Fleet is created by the team at Mission. To learn more about our creative studio and network of podcasts, go to mission.org.