Paris Preps for Major Events with Additional Allison Transmission-Equipped Cleaning Vehicles

PARIS, July 2024 - This year, around 20 waste collection vehicles equipped with Allison fully automatic transmissions join the City of Paris' fleet of cleaning vehicles. These new waste collection vehicles contribute to the regular renewal of Paris' state-of-the-art Allison-equipped fleet.

With six garages spread across Paris and 700 drivers, the Mechanical Means Section is responsible for driving and maintaining waste collection and road cleaning vehicles in ten of Paris' twenty districts, with the remaining being subcontracted.

The Paris Technical Cleanliness Service has 374 vehicles, from 12 to 26 tonnes, all running on BioNGV, the renewable and low-carbon version of Natural Gas for Vehicles, with Allison fully automatic transmissions. The fleet is one of the three largest Allison-equipped fleets in Europe and includes waste collection, street cleaning, sweepers and multi-purpose rigid vehicles.

As one of the largest metropolises in Europe, the City of Paris must remain at the forefront of innovation. Its Testing and Innovation Unit thus monitors technology and has been testing new equipment and technologies that can serve the city for several decades, according to strictly defined protocols and tests.

"The constraints and level of demand on our vehicles are significant," said Hervé Piguet, head of the Purchasing and Use of Materials Division of the City of Paris. "Using Allison automatic transmissions for many years has allowed us to test their quality and reliability and demonstrate their relevance for our road applications and professions. Furthermore, driving heavy trucks in an urban environment in a city as dense as Paris, with the increase in road traffic, is increasingly difficult and stressful for our drivers. With Allison transmissions, working conditions are more comfortable."

For the City of Paris, the challenge is also to ensure technical resources are of the highest caliber and to maximize vehicle uptime. In addition to regular investments to renew the fleet, the city is heavily involved in optimizing its maintenance.

"Giving the right tools to our teams is essential. We have increased the skills of our technicians and implemented preventive maintenance to optimize the availability of our fleet," said Daniel Le Parc, head of the Expertise and Training Unit. "The training we developed in partnership with Allison was effective. Also, maintaining the recommended fluid and filter changes allows us to control ownership costs and improve the reliability of the chassis."

By relying on Allison fully automatic transmissions, the City of Paris can handle everyday tasks, as well as large-scale events, with ease.

"We are used to important events like the Paris marathon, the music festival or the Rugby World Cup," said Piguet. "With the Olympic Games this summer, the use of our vehicles will be very intensive, and we must be able to count on them at all times. It is therefore important for us to choose the right equipment and optimize its management."