“Starting this year we will buy 10 vehicles a year until we replace them all,” Guise says. “We will probably keep vehicles for five or six years.”

Maintenance and repairs will continue to be outsourced. Vehicles are comprehensively checked every two weeks when they undergo a full valet – items include lights, brakes, fluid levels, fanbelt, radiator and bodywork – in addition to a daily driver checklist including tyres, chips and vehicle tax.

A fault reporting form captures any other issues.

The combination of improved driving skills and regular vehicle checks have seen maintenance costs dramatically reduce.

The university now has a clear policy covering the three key areas: cost, safety and the environment.

And with students – particularly foreign students who make up a large proportion of the annual intake – increasingly considering emissions as part of their higher education choices, Guise is keen to promote the environmental message carried by the use of electric and hydrogen vehicles.

For the university, it’s about creating awareness for the work it is doing across all operations, especially fleet.

“It’s about sustainable excellence – that is what we are looking to achieve,” adds Guise.

Hydrogen vs electric: round one hydrogen

The University of Birmingham took on its first hydrogen fuel cell vehicle two years ago to use as an on-site postal services van.

It is about to take its fifth on loan from Microcab Industries, adding to the seven outright- purchased electric vehicles (EVs) in the alternatively-fuelled fleet.

Pitching the two head-to-head, hydrogen is the clear winner, according to the man overseeing the research, Kevin Kendall, professor of formulation engineering at the university.

“The hydrogen vehicles have a small battery which make them lightweight but with the benefits of electric, such as performance,” he says.

“Compared to the combustion engine, it is cleaner and twice as efficient.

"The issues are infrastructure and the availability of hydrogen, particularly green hydrogen from bio-waste.”

Green hydrogen is costly – around 20p per mile, compared to 2-3p per mile for industrial hydrogen.

“But 2-3p per mile is where we are heading with green hydrogen,” Kendall adds.

The vehicles have a 1.2kW proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack used as a secondary power source to charge up a series of lead-acid batteries and a pressurised hydrogen tank.

Range is extended to 150 miles – electric vehicles are typically up to 100 miles – while refilling the hydrogen tank takes just three minutes compared to five to eight hours for EVs.

In addition to infrastructure, the main issues are cost, lifetime and reliability in both start-up and duty cycles.

New working time guidelines

The university is often called upon to chauffeur staff and visiting guests to and from the site.

It’s an unusual – and challenging – part of Monica Guise’s role, and one which required urgent action when she took over fleet responsibilities.

Chauffeur hours were not monitored, resulting in long, potentially risky, driving times.

“We had no set rules – chauffeurs could go from one job at Heathrow at midnight to another in Surrey at seven in the morning,” Guise says. “The hours were too long with too few breaks.”

She has implemented new guidelines based around the working time directive which include a minimum 11-hour break.

The chauffeurs have also been sent on a four-day training course, while several staff have been trained to act as part-time chauffeurs to support the main drivers.

It has reduced risk and improved safety.