Have you heard? The transition to cleaner, smarter vehicles is accelerating across Southern Nevada! And Clark County’s Southern Nevada Clean Cities and Communities Coalition (SNCC) is inspiring fleet professionals to shape a sustainable and resilient transportation future for the region.
SNCC hosts three Fleet Manager Roundtables every year to explore cutting-edge programs, technologies, and best practices that make switching from polluting gas-powered vehicles to electric, hybrid, and alternative fuel options feasible. For example, did you know that NV Energy offers a Fleet Managed Charging Program to incentivize businesses making the transition to EVs?
September’s roundtable brought together more than twenty participants representing organizations such as NV Energy, the Nevada Clean Energy Fund, Southwest Gas, Clark County’s Department of Environment and Sustainability, and the City of Henderson. We asked Martin Lane, Henderson’s Fleet Operations and Maintenance Manager, to share some of the insights and best practices that he presented during the roundtable.
Q: Can you tell us a bit about your role and what you oversee as Fleet Operations and Maintenance Manager for the City of Henderson?
Lane: Currently I oversee everything related to the City of Henderson’s vehicles, equipment, and two maintenance facilities. I ensure the safety, reliability, compliance with regulations, cost-effectiveness, and readiness of our fleet to support our community. I am responsible for tracking vehicle and equipment metrics, vendor relationships, preparing and managing the fleet budget, overseeing vehicle specs, vehicle and equipment retirement or reassignment, and vehicle and equipment acquisition and disposal. I work directly with all our departments to ensure our fleet meets their operational needs.
Q: The City of Henderson's fleet was recognized as one of the 100 Best Fleets in the Americas for 2025 by the NAFA Fleet Management Association. Congratulations! What metrics or tools do you find the most useful for tracking fleet performance and sustainability?
Lane: A good telematics and GPS platform to help identify underutilized assets and to reduce fuel waste. Fleet management information software (FMIS) that helps to track the maintenance, maintenance and repair costs, productivity, maintenance trends, and asset lifecycles. Investing in shop diagnostic tools helps with proper diagnosis and saving valuable labor hours with repairs.
Q: In your presentation, you spoke about how low mileage doesn’t always mean low usage. Why is it important to look at engine hours as well as miles when assessing the impact of fleet vehicles?
Lane: Mileage only tells one part of the story when it comes to vehicles and equipment. Mileage tells you how far the vehicle has driven, but hours tell you how much work the engine on a vehicle did. Overall, engine hours give us a better indication of wear on key engine and powertrain components. This metric also gives a good measure for maintenance intervals when it comes to assets that don’t move a lot, but idle and are stationary while performing their jobs.
Q: By early next year, the City of Henderson is planning to kick off a pilot program to replace petroleum-based rubber tires with soybean oil-based tires, a more sustainable and low-carbon material. How do you approach evaluating and testing new sustainable technologies? What inspired this idea for Henderson?
Lane: As an innovative fleet, we are always open to new technologies and ideas that can make us more sustainable or innovative. I was fortunate enough to meet a Goodyear Tires representative at the NAFA Fleet Management Association Institute & Expo that introduced the soybean oil tire pilot to me.
Q: If you could give one piece of advice to other cities beginning their fleet sustainability journey, what would it be?
Lane: It doesn’t happen overnight. Choose realistic sustainability goals. Finally, reach out to your peers. The fleet community is small, and we are always willing to help one another.
Every mile we drive a gas- or diesel-powered vehicle, greenhouse gases are emitted into the atmosphere, causing pollution and contributing to climate change. In fact, transportation alone accounts for 47% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the County. Learn more and take action at allinclarkcounty.com.
