Fy2015 S E C O N D Qu A R T E R Ed I T I O N Gsa Fleet U

GSA FLEET UPDATE - FY15 SECOND QUARTER Page 4 Electric Vehicle Charging Transactions - Coming Soon to GSA Fleet Drive-thru! Over the last few months GSA Fleet has been working with our Fleet Card provider, WEX, Inc. and our current electric vehicle station providers, Apollo Sunguard and ChargePoint, to integrate vehicle charging data into GSA Fleet Drive-thru. Although not available yet, when live, you will be able to view your electric and plug-in electric vehicles’ charging data in the Fuel Usage Report. This additional ‘fueling’ data will allow for real-time tracking of actual fuel economy and usage at the vehicle level (the same as your conventionally-fueled vehicles). This data can also be used in your annual FAST reporting. Future enhancements to this data stream will include the availability of Gas Gallon Equivalents (GGEs). ChargePoint Data Portal. ChargePoint/WEX integration will ensure the data is captured and connected to each vehicle tag and published along with your other fueling transactions in the GSA Fleet Drive-thru Fuel Usage Report. The initial rollout will only involve activated stations ordered by GSA in 2014 as part of GSA’s Second Electric Vehicle Pilot. After the ChargePoint/WEX integration, drivers will still utilize the ChargePoint scan card to initiate the transaction. As is the process now, the data will be captured in the Have You Heard About Category Management and Virtual Hallways? As a high-level introduction to category management, the goal is to help customer agencies navigate federal products, services, and solutions under a unified platform. The government acquisition landscape is currently fragmented which leads to many agencies duplicating efforts and establishing redundant acquisition programs. Category management is a means that provides federal buyers with access to, and expert analysis of, a full array of purchasing and pricing data, qualified suppliers, acquisition vehicles and expanded services segmented by government category -- all in one central location. GSA is taking the lead on developing the Common Acquisition Platform (CAP), which will be our federal customer’s technology platform to access category management information and tools. The end result will help the government drive down prices, reduce duplication and price variability, leading to smarter purchasing decisions across government. In the CAP gateway, each category will have their own hallway to host their information and acquisition sources. GSA's Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) has identified Motor Vehicles as a category under this initiative and GSA Fleet is leading the effort to develop a motor vehicle category "virtual hallway" in CAP. GSA plans to launch the motor vehicle hallway in late June. The hallway will be dynamic and updated with new solutions and data as information becomes available. Please stay tuned for updated news on when the motor vehicle hallway is accessible through GSA's CAP gateway.

GSA FLEET UPDATE - FY15 SECOND QUARTER Page 5 Alternative Fuel Vehicle Monthly Surcharge GSA Fleet has conducted a review of the alternative fuel vehicle (AFV) surcharge funding needs for the FY2015 acquisition cycle. Based on current and projected AFV orders, we anticipate adequate AFV incremental funding is collected for the FY2015 acquisition cycle in aggregate across the program. Therefore, we will cease the AFV surcharge effective April 1, 2015. If you have questions regarding this matter, you may contact gsa.fleet.acquisition.mailbox@gsa.gov. GSA Fleet Establishes Electric Vehicle Replacement Criteria GSA Fleet has identified a minimum mileage and age component as the replacement criteria for all electric vehicles in order to take full advantage of the component warranties of these vehicles. Previously, no targeted minimum replacement criteria were set for electric vehi- cles; however, the minimum replacement criteria will now be 5 years and 60,000 miles, 7 years and any miles, or any year and 85,000 miles. The new minimum replacement standards can be viewed here: http://gsa.gov/portal/content/104230. Greater Availability of Electric Vehicles in the Near Future? The New Executive Order signed on March 19th coupled with the June 2014 announcement by Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors, to cancel all patents on Tesla technology may mean a new wave of more affordable and better designed electric and plug-in electric vehicles. Why would he do that? In the spirit of the open source movement for the advancement of electric vehicle technology of course. This may seem novel, kind, too good-hearted to be true. However another man you may have heard of made a very similar gesture over two hundred years ago. Ben Franklin, the inventor of the light bulb, electricity, bifocal glasses, and social innovations like “paying it forward” also made his patents publicly available. Hoping to spur innovation and the development of other products and ideas Franklin’s ideas were not only inno- vative and meaningful in their own right, but contributed to a whole slew of future ideas and innovations. As American representative in London, he helped persuade Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act taxes that gave America more time to prepare for armed conflict with Britain. He is responsible for the military assistance we received from France that without which, America probably wouldn’t have won the Revolutionary War. He helped negotiate the peace with Britain and was the one who moved that the Constitution be adopted. In Philadelphia, he helped launch the city’s first police force, the first volunteer fire company, the first fire insurance firm, the first hospital, the first public library, and the academy that became the first institution of higher learning - the University of Pennsylvania. He started the American Philosophical Society, which was this country’s first scientific society that maintained the first science library, first museum, the first patent office (ironically); more than 90 members of this society went on to win Nobel Prizes. His measurements helped chart the Gulf Stream. He pioneered the study of water flowing around a hull — hydrodynamics. Maybe most significantly, his experiments with electricity, especially lightning, helped banish the terror of thunderstorms and contributed to the electricity we know and use in all parts of our lives today.

GSA FLEET UPDATE - FY15 SECOND QUARTER Page 6 Mechanic’s Corner: Let’s Talk Tires. Proper tire maintenance is an often neglected, yet a very important safety function. Tires are the only contact between your vehicle and the road, and properly maintaining them cannot be stressed enough. The two best reasons to monitor tire condition are (1) your personal safety and (2) government savings on fuel cost and tire replacement. Tires affect how your vehicle steers,brakes and handles on the road. how it brakes, and how it handles on the road. The rubber contact area for all four tires for a typical midsize car is less than that of an 8½ x 11 inch sheet of paper, or about the size of an average man’s hand. Yet we expect those small patches of rubber to guide us safely in a rain storm, or allow us to handle an exit ramp, or negotiate potholes without damage. Properly inflated tires also improve fuel economy. Simple maintenance means a safer ride for the consumer and cost savings to the government. Tires are GSA Fleet’s number one maintenance expense. With over 200,000 vehicles in the fleet, GSA spends over 25 million on tires annually. Due to the high volume of tires purchased, GSA has negotiated pricing with several manufacturers including Goodyear, Bridgestone/ Firestone, and Michelin, and with vendors such as Les Schwab and Pep Boys. For recommendations on where to get new tires in your area, please contact your Fleet Service Representative (FSR) or the Maintenance Control Center (MCC). GSA’s policy is that tires are to be replaced when the remaining tread depth is 2/32 of an inch or less, when the tread wear bars indicate that the tire should be replaced, or when the tires are otherwise deemed to be unsafe or unusable. The penny trick still works. If you insert an upside-down penny into your tire tread and can see the top of Lincoln’s head, you need new tires. In addition to low tread, a major concern with tires is over- or underinflation. In fact, the leading cause of tire failure is under-inflation. Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS), standard on all passenger vehicles since 2007, help with that; but most systems only notify the driver when the tire pressure is more than 25 percent below the OEM’s recommended pressure. TPMS is not a substitute for a monthly check of tire pressure. Should you experience a flat or tire failure, GSA vehicles are equipped with either a spare tire or spare inflator kit. If you can safely replace the spare or inflate the tire with the kit, GSA recommends doing so. This is the quickest way to get back on the road. You can also take advantage of your vehicle’s roadside assistance coverage. Most vehicles come with roadside assistance coverage as part of the warranty. For more info, check your owners’ manual or call the MCC. GSA’s Finance Centers Move to USDA GSA has transitioned its Finance Center activities to the U.S. Department of Agriculture effective March 22, 2015. Affected personnel in this move manage the GSA Fleet billing program and processes; however the transition of this team to USDA should be seamless to you. Please do not be alarmed if you receive an email from an employee at USDA regarding your GSA Fleet bill, as they will continue to support GSA Fleet in the same capacity regardless of their new agency assignment. You will also begin to see the new address on correspondence coming from their office. If you manage paperwork requiring the Finance and Billing office address, the updated address is: USDA-OCFO Financial Information Control Branch 2300 Main Street -- 2SE Kansas City, MO 64108 Note! GSA is now charging interest and penalties on past due accounts for non-federal customers. Given these charges have only recently been assessed on monthly billing statements, GSA has included a letter explaining the fees being charged along with the standard dunning notices you receive from GSA's Finance Center (now USDA) if/when your bill becomes past due.

GSA FLEET UPDATE - FY15 SECOND QUARTER Page 7 Operation Warfighter (OWF) GSA Fleet is proud to have become a home for many veterans choosing to remain in the federal workforce. Our Accident Management Centers (AMC) and Maintenance Control Centers (MCC), and ultimately our GSA Fleet customers, benefit from their knowledge and experience. Over the last 18 months, we’ve also had the pleasure of hosting several Service members interning through Operation Warfighter. Major Brown is currently working on GSA Fleet’s Warranty Assistance and Recovery Program developing processes and procedures to further reduce vehicle expenses on warrantycovered parts and repairs. OWF is a federal internship program for recovering Service members. The main objective of OWF is to place recovering Service members in supportive work settings that positively impact their recovery. The program GSA Fleet’s Atlanta, GA MCC is cur- represents an opportunity to facilitate recovering Service members’ develrently hosting Operating Warfighter intern Major Elton Brown. His experi- opment and employment readiness by providing assistance with resume ence as a Plans and Policy Officer, as building, exploring employment inwell as assignments as a Chief of Loterests, and developing job skills gistics in Baghdad and Kandahar, bring a wealth of knowledge to GSA. through internship opportunities. 2015 AFV Acquisition Tool GSA's Office of Motor Vehicle Management is happy to announce that the complete 2015 Alternative Fuel Vehicle (AFV) Acquisition Guide is now posted online and available for use! Building on the light-duty configurations, the complete AFV Guide now includes FY15 buses, wheelchair vans, vocational body trucks and medium and heavy duty vehicles. The AFV Guide is released annually to customers and includes all Alternative-Fuel Vehicle configurations offered by GSA as well as information on federal sustainability mandates, federal vehicle standard item numbers that are required to comply with Section 141 of 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act, and a static listing of low-greenhouse gas vehicles. An interactive tool was also added to allow customers to identify AFVs based on specific selection criteria including vehicle type, fuel type, the delivery state's emissions status, efficiency measures, and costs. By using this tool, customers will be able to simplify as well as quantify their acquisition decisions. To access the guide, please visit the following GSA website at www.gsa.gov/portal/content/104224. OWF enables federal employers to better familiarize themselves with the skill sets and challenges of recovering Service members as well as benefit from the considerable talent and dedication of these individuals, at no cost to the agency. Operation Warfighter has placed more than 2,500 recovering Service members in internships with more than 500 different federal agencies and sub-components. For more information about how your agency can host an OWF candidate, please contact your agency’s Office of Human Resources or email the DOD Office of Warrior Care Policy at warriorcare@osd.mil.

GSA FLEET UPDATE - FY15 SECOND QUARTER Page 8 Fender Benders Vehicles are lighter and more fuel efficient in response to tighter Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, and are adding advanced safety technology in response to pushes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and industry organizations such as the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Plastics, lightweight alloys, and aluminum are integral to these new, lightweight designs. Automakers are also adding backup cameras, crash-avoidance technology, advanced windshields, and other technologies to avoid collisions and making design changes to increase vehicle occupants’ safety when collisions do occur. While these changes all sound great, they will require agency fleet managers to review how fleet funds are allocated, and to make the case to senior leadership on savings and benefits that are being realized outside of the fleet program a potentially great story. On the positive side of the balance sheet, industry experts predict lower demand for repairs as the number and severity of crashes decrease. This will drive down crash costs overall. Fleets will also experience fuel cost savings as automakers are accelerating the use of materials such as aluminum because it saves up to 28 percent more weight than steel and can improve fuel economy by up to 4.8 mpg. These changes to the genetics of vehicles available today, and even more so in the future, ultimately should result in lower fleet expenses over time when reductions in fuel cost and non-vehicle expenses such as tort claims, lost productivity, medical expenses, etc. are factored in. On the negative side of the balance sheet, crash costs in the near term are likely to rise, on a per-collision basis, and it will be more challenging to find qualified repair vendors. The increase in embedded electronics in nearly every automotive system adds complexity and cost. The new materials, fastening systems, and other technology in vehicles are also more expensive to work on. In order to perform aluminum repairs, body shops have to wall off separate work areas and buy tools separate from those used on steel cars because steel shavings can contaminate aluminum. In addition, aluminum is difficult to weld, so most parts are glued and riveted together. According to Dan Bailey, an executive vice president at Carstar, the largest auto-body repair franchise in the United States, the total investment in training and tools to run an aluminum-body repair shop can run as much as 200,000. Edmunds.com predicts this increase will drive the average collision repair labor rate from 60 to over 120 per hour. Industry experts predict almost half of today's repair shops will not make the investment. In addition, embedded in nearly every automotive system are electronics, which add new complexities to vehicle repair. Though there are plenty of reasons to despair, remember not all is gloom and doom. Though per-accident repair costs may rise in the short run, fleets are going to see numerous benefits and will likely save money in the long run. There are positives for your fleet and your agency when considering the big picture. WEX Swipe to Turn on DLA Pumps GSA Fleet in cooperation with Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) has been piloting the use of WEX fleet cards to activate DLA capitalized pumps at military installations in Europe. Rather than using VIL keys which have to be programmed and updated by individual installation fuel offices at each base, the WEX fleet card that comes with your GSA Fleet leased vehicle will be capable of turning on installation pumps nationally upon project completion. CONUS/stateside activation of card readers will begin in spring 2015 and will take two years to complete the entire project. GSA is working with DLA on the implementation schedule and turning on the card readers will be completed as base pumps are updated during their standard maintenance schedule. GSA Fleet will reach out to individual bases as sites are upgraded to ensure a smooth transition and to collect old VIL keys which will be locked out as sites are updated to use their GSA Fleet issued WEX cards. Questions can be directed to lpt@gsa.gov.

Page 9 What’s So Important? April is Distracted Driver Awareness Month. In this month’s Safety Corner, GSA Fleet asks you to consider “What’s so important?” that a call, message, or other information on a cell phone can’t wait until your vehicle is stopped. According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety: 83% of respondents said drivers using cell phones are a “serious” or “extremely serious” problem 60% of surveyed drivers admitted to driving distracted according to the National Safety Council Distraction is a factor in 58 percent of moderateto severe-teenage accidents Half of all teenagers involved in rear end collisions were still driving at full speed at the point of impact - no evasive action, no braking Here are the statistics - This month there will be a number of presentations on distracted and defensive driving. Please set down your phone and find some time to learn more. According to the National Safety Council: GSA Fleet will hold several Desktop Workshop sessions. For more information visit - https:// lder-id 1151390160 The National Safety Council will hold several free webinars. For more information visit - http:// www.nsc.org/learn/NSC-Initiatives/Pages/ distracted-driving-awareness-month.aspx “Our Brains on Technology: A Risky Combo for Drivers” - April 9, 2015 from 1 - 2 p.m. CST is targeted at drivers “Hands-free or Handheld: Risks your Workplace Can’t Afford” - April 21, 2015 from 11 am - 12 p.m. CST is targeted at fleet managers, safety coordinators, and human resource specialists Car crashes are the number one cause of workplace death Drivers using cellphones are: Four times more likely to crash Account for 25% of all crashes According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) 2012 National Occupant Protection Use Survey on Driver Electronics Use: 660,000 drivers wer

read through all the happenings at GSA Fleet and across the Federal Fleet, including new information to be availa-ble for you in GSA Fleet Drive-thru, new minimum re-placement criteria for electric vehicles, and the kickoff of GSA's 2016 Federal Vehicle Standards process with our comment collector opening on April 6th.