Blog: City Blog

Sustainability Champion: John Hull

In celebration of Earth Month 2022, the City's Office of Sustainability is showcasing three exceptional employees who have been integral to our sustainability focus areas: energy, transportation, and waste.

John Hull
Director of Maintenance, Knoxville Area Transit (KAT)
1 year in current role, 3 years at KAT
John Hull, KAT Director of Maintenance

John Hull oversees maintenance operations for KAT, directing the 50 staff that "actually maintain the vehicles," as he’ll be quick to tell you. He jokes that he spends most of his time “managing by walking around” to see how the technicians and supervisors are doing and troubleshoot immediate challenges, but John is also responsible for managing asset inventory, procuring parts and equipment, submitting monthly reports for the federal government, and more.

FROM DRIVER TO DIRECTOR

John took a job as a KAT driver in 2019, planning to drive for a couple years “for fun” after a long career in the private sector. “This was just supposed to be a retirement job,” he says with a laugh. Instead, he was quickly promoted -- first to maintenance parts manager, and then to director of maintenance in 2021.

He was immediately charged with a huge task: getting KAT’s new fleet of electric buses on the road. John had to learn everything about electric vehicles from scratch; he’d never owned one and didn’t know much about how they worked. “They’re nothing like our diesel buses,” he explains. “They look the same; riders have about the same experience, but these buses are really computers on wheels. They’re much higher-tech.”

John began field-testing the new electric buses in spring 2020. For months, he tracked how much battery the buses used on each of KAT’s routes to make sure they could handle different terrains, traffic patterns, and weather conditions. He analyzed performance on Knoxville’s famously hilly streets in order to optimize operations and get the buses ready for service. On top of managing data, John worked with Si McMurray, KAT’s Director of Procurement, to deploy high-tech “smart charging” software that makes sure each bus is ready for the next route.

Less than a year later, KAT is running 12 electric buses on daily routes and plans to add another six soon. John and the leadership team are exploring opportunities to install overhead "fast chargers" on routes to help the buses run with fewer interruptions each day.

ELECTRIFYING BUSES, INVESTING IN PEOPLE

While the entire KAT team was involved in the electric bus project, John Hull deserves special recognition for his behind-the-scenes role in its success. John has been instrumental to integrating this new technology into KAT’s operation and working out the kinks that come with adopting new technology. He has been invaluable to successfully integrating the new buses into KAT service.

On top of that, he saw the project as an opportunity to invest in his team. He continuously looks for ways to train his technicians – not only to ensure they can safely service electric vehicles, but so they can learn the technologies that are already changing the industry.

"The public is really excited about these buses," he says. "They’re comfortable, they’re convenient, riders can hear a conversation better than in a diesel bus. People definitely see them as the way of the future. I tell my staff to be open to change and learn this technology now because it’s absolutely the future of their careers, and I want them to be prepared."

John Hull is proud that KAT is on the leading edge, remarking that he’s seen exceptional political and financial support for the new buses. Now, he and others at KAT are working hard to share the lessons they’ve learned with other communities.

When asked what it means for Knoxville to be a sustainable city, he answers immediately:

“Knoxville is going to keep growing, and we have to plan now for services that won’t harm the environment," he says. "Things have to change. And we’re proud to be leading the charge.”

Posted by ptravis On 31 March, 2022 at 11:01 PM