Fleet DNA: Commercial Fleet Vehicle Operating Data

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The Fleet DNA database of commercial fleet vehicle operating data helps vehicle manufacturers and developers optimize vehicle designs and helps fleet managers choose advanced technologies.

A subset of data shown in this online tool provides data summaries and visualizations similar to real-world "genetics" for medium- and heavy-duty fleet vehicles, which helps users understand the broad operational range of commercial vehicles across vocations and weight classes.

FleetDNA is part of the FleetREDI platform.

Delivery Trucks

Photo of a delivery truck

The delivery truck category includes data for city delivery, straight trucks, stake body vehicles, furniture trucks, rack trucks, and beverage delivery trucks ranging in size from class 3 to class 7 with primary vocations of delivering parcels, food, linens, beverages, or warehouse items.

Fleet DNA has 553 days of driving data from 36 delivery trucks operating in the United States.

Composite Data

Data Summary and Visualizations

 

Related Studies

Learn more about the operation of delivery trucks through these studies.

In-Use and Vehicle Dynamometer Evaluation and Comparison of Class 7 Hybrid Electric and Conventional Diesel Delivery

School Buses

Photo of a school bus

The school bus category includes data for a wide range of school bus types, including class A to class D body types sized from class 3 to class 6.

Fleet DNA has 857 days of driving data from 204 school buses operating in the United States.

Composite Data

Data Summary and Visualizations

 

Related Studies

Learn more about the operation of school buses through these studies.

A Statistical Characterization of School Bus Drive Cycles Collected via Onboard Logging Systems

Drive Cycle Analysis, Measurement of Emissions and Fuel Consumption of a PHEV School Bus

Transit Buses

Photo of a transit bus

The transit bus category includes a wide range of data for buses operating on shorter-distance public transport bus services, which include single- and double-deck buses, articulated buses and midibuses. The typical operating weight range for this category is class 7 and 8 with the primary vocation being mass transit.

Fleet DNA has 472 days of driving data from 19 transit buses operating in the United States.

Composite Data

Data Summary and Visualizations

 

Related Studies

Learn more about the operation of transit buses through these studies.

St. Louis Metro Biodiesel (B20) Transit Bus Evaluation

King County Metro Transit Hybrid Articulated Buses: Final Evaluation Results

Case Study: Ebus Hybrid Electric Buses and Trolleys

Long Beach Transit: Two-Year Evaluation of Gasoline-Electric Hybrid Transit Buses

In-Use Performance Comparison of Hybrid Electric, CNG, and Diesel Buses at New York City Transit

BAE/Orion Hybrid Electric Buses at New York City Transit

New York City Transit Hybrid and CNG Transit Buses: Final Evaluation Results

Bucket Trucks

Photo of a bucket truck

The bucket truck category includes data for a wide range of vehicle chassis builds that have a powered overhead boom with a bucket attachment. The sizes of the vehicles in the database range from class 3 to class 7 with vocational applications in the utility and telecommunications fields.

Fleet DNA has 283 days of driving data from 20 bucket trucks operating in the United States.

Composite Data

Data Summary and Visualizations

 

Service Vans

Photo of a service van

The service van category includes data for both service and utility vans ranging in size from class 2 to class 3 with vocational applications in the utility and telecommunications fields.

Fleet DNA has 29 days of driving data from 4 service vans operating in the United States.

Composite Data

Data Summary and Visualizations

 

Tractors

Photo of a tractor

The tractor category includes data for a wide range of vehicle types and configurations, including beverage delivery tractors, semis, sleeper semis, and refrigerated trucks that each have a removable trailer and range in size from class 7 to class 8. Vehicles in this category also include a wide range of vocations, such as beverage, fuel, and food delivery, and regional and long-hauling activities.

Fleet DNA has 1,150 days of driving data collected from 70 tractors operating in the United States.

Composite Data

Data Summary and Visualizations

 

Related Studies

Learn more about the operation of tractors through these studies.

Effect of Platooning on Fuel Consumption of Class 8 Vehicles Over a Range of Speeds, Following Distances, and Mass

Coca-Cola Refreshments Class 8 Diesel Electric Hybrid Tractor Evaluation: 13-Month Final Report

Project Startup: Evaluating Coca-Cola's Class 8 Hybrid-Electric Delivery Trucks

Refuse Trucks

Photo of a refuse truck

The refuse truck category includes data for a wide range of refuse-hauling vehicles, including front-, side-, and real-loading refuse trucks in addition to dumpster-hauling trucks. The typical operating weight range for this category is class 8, and the primary vocation is refuse pickup.

Fleet DNA has 387 days of driving data from 39 refuse trucks operating in the United States.

Composite Data

Data Summary and Visualizations

 

 

Composite Data for All Categories

View charts with data for all the vehicle categories above or download the composite data for all vehicles.

 

Connect With Clean Cities and Communities

Clean Cities and Communities is a U.S. Department of Energy partnership to foster transportation energy choices nationwide. More than 75 coalitions work with fleets to deliver objective technical expertise based on a unique understanding of local markets. Connect with your local coalition. 

Tools and Resources

Use these tools to analyze and sort transportation data.

FleetREDI: Fleet Research, Energy Data, and Insights
Access our interactive online portal for commercial vehicle data and energy insights.

DRIVE: Drive-Cycle Rapid Investigation, Visualization, and Evaluation Analysis Tool 
Produce drive cycles from real-world vehicle data to cut evaluation and analysis time.

U.S. Department of Energy Fleet DNA Data Summaries 
Access daily duty cycle summaries for every vehicle day within NREL's Fleet DNA database using the Livewire Data Platform.

T3CO: Transportation Technology Total Cost of Ownership
Explore fast, customizable commercial vehicle total cost of ownership analyses.

Browse our complete list of data and tools.

How To Use the Data

Use these resources to understand the data and get ideas on how to use drive cycle metrics.

Documentation

Fleet DNA Composite Data Dictionary

How Road Grade Data Is Added to Fleet DNA

Examples

FleetREDI Insights

Map Matching and Real World Integrated Sensor Data Warehousing

Overcoming the Range Limitation of Medium-Duty Battery Electric Vehicles Through the Use of Hydrogen Fuel Cells

Contribution of Road Grade to the Energy Use of Modern Automobiles Across Large Datasets of Real-World Drive Cycles

How To Contribute Your Data

You can contribute your fleet's data to FleetREDI's Fleet DNA database to advance commercial vehicle technologies. Email us at [email protected].

How To Cite the Data

Publications that use data from Fleet DNA should include a citation consistent with the following format:

“Fleet DNA Project Data.” ([YEAR]). NREL. Accessed [DATE]: www.nrel.gov/fleetdna

If you use the data in a publication, please notify Andrew Kotz so we can gauge the reach of the data.

Contact

Contact us at [email protected] for more information.

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Last Updated Nov. 17, 2025