UC Davis Fleet Manager Inducted into Clean Cities Hall of Fame

ESTES PARK, CO – The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) honored Richard Battersby, East Bay Clean Cities Coalition executive director and director of fleet services at the University of California at Davis, for his dedication and outstanding accomplishments in reducing the Bay Area’s dependence on petroleum in transportation.

DOE’s National Clean Cities Co-Director Linda Bluestein inducted Battersby into the Clean Cities Hall of Fame on Sept. 26 while in Estes Park, Colo., where representatives from nearly 100 Clean Cities coalitions from across the country gathered for a transportation technology deployment workshop.

Battersby began his work with the East Bay Clean Cities Coalition in 1998 and took the organization’s helm as executive director and coordinator in 2003. In 2011 alone, the coalition saved more than 9 million gallons of petroleum and averted more than 52,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions through the deployment of alternative and renewable fuels, advanced vehicles, idle reduction, and fuel economy improvements.

“Richard Battersby has proven himself to be true leader and mentor to others in the deployment of alternative fuels and advanced vehicles, both in California and nationally,” Bluestein said. “His collaborative nature and hands-on experience with vehicle fleets make him an invaluable asset to the Golden State and the national Clean Cities program.”

Battersby has more than 25 years of experience in vehicle fleet management in the public and private sectors, including with Airborne Express, the State of California, the U.S. Army, and Contra Costa County. His expertise has allowed him to offer guidance and technical assistance to organizations throughout the Bay Area as they implement projects that reduce reliance on gasoline and diesel fuel, lower fleet operating costs, and cut emissions.

“I find a lot of satisfaction in helping another fleet manager,” Battersby said. “The transportation projects we take on are like big puzzles – the fuels, the infrastructure, the fuel providers, the vehicles and the customers all need to fit well together in a way that meets the organization’s needs.”

This year, Battersby helped Waste Management develop fueling infrastructure to power refuse trucks with natural gas captured from the Altamont Landfill in Livermore, Calif. He was also instrumental in the establishment of a transit service between UC Berkeley and UC Davis that uses buses powered by compressed natural gas. Battersby has been a key leader in the Bay Area’s preparations for wide-scale adoption of electric vehicles and the implementation of charging infrastructure.

Battersby has played a major role in ramping up California’s biofuels infrastructure through the Low Carbon Fuel Infrastructure Investment Initiative (LCF13). The project is on pace to install 75 new retail renewable fuel stations in the state by the end of 2012, with the potential to displace 39 million gallons of petroleum and 187,500 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. Supported by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, LCF13 is also funded through the California Energy Commission and Propel Fuels. East Bay Clean Cities and other Clean Cities coalitions in the state have worked with project partners to identify promising station locations in areas with high densities of alternative-fuel vehicles and to spread the word about the new facilities.

Battersby is a certified automotive fleet manager and a certified public fleet professional and holds more than 40 Automotive Service Excellence certifications. He is also an active member in the Public Fleet Supervisors Association and the California County Fleet Managers’ Association. In addition, Battersby is a past chairman and officer of the NAFA Fleet Management Association San Francisco Chapter.