Government Fleet Trends, Challenges and Opportunities

Government fleets face many of the same challenges and concerns other fleets encounter; and conversely, government fleets can benefit in the same way as other fleets from the use of the right GPS and telematics technologies. When it comes to top-of-mind issues, monitoring driving behaviors  and fuel affordability are definitely at the forefront. Let’s take a closer look at the more prevalent issues impacting government fleets today – and then discover how GPS tracking can help government fleets better address many of them.

Fleet Fundamentals – Fuel Affordability & Driver/Vehicle Safety

Funding Fleet Fuel

Let’s face it – fuel can be unpredictable. Its availability and its cost aren’t things easily planned for, which makes getting a handle on fleet fuel a top priority for all fleets, including those in municipalities and governments. So, how can fleet managers better detect inefficient fuel utilization? And how can fleets more predictably consume fuel overall?

By investing in telematics and GPS solutions, government fleets can automate the process of keeping track of vehicle usage and maintenance, idle time, fuel consumption and more.¹ This can help uncover trends and issues which make for more accurate budgeting and forecasting.

Supporting Safer Driver Behavior

When it comes to fleet safety, preventing accidents is the number one priority. Not only in terms of keeping both drivers and the public safe, but also in terms of controlling costs related to insurance/liability, unplanned downtime, and vehicle maintenance. In addition, improved fleet safety can lead to increased driver efficiency and greater overall productivity: all of which depend on the technology used within fleet vehicles. This is where a GPS tracking solution can have a positive impact.¹

Hand in hand with fleet safety is keeping up with the replacement of older or out-of-date vehicles. With economic times improving (or becoming better than they were a decade ago) and technology advancements happening at a faster pace, government fleets must consider whether the time is right to embark on a fleet modernization initiative to update specific vehicles or entire fleets in order to integrate with the latest digital in-vehicle safety platforms and applications.²

Additional Trends and Challenges

Safety and fuel are two top considerations for government fleets, but they aren’t the only ones. Here are a few more trends/challenges worth noting:

• Finding and keeping technicians: Private maintenance facilities often offer larger salaries and are attracting much of the skilled talent in what’s becoming a rapidly-dwindling technician pool. Government fleets must remain competitive with the private sector both in compensation and training, because fleets are often a mix of newer and older vehicles/technologies (which the new generation of technicians aren’t always familiar with).²
• Investing in new technology: Many government fleets are interested in investing in Fleet Management Information Systems and other newer technologies to bolster operations and support data-driven systems including telematics, GPS tracking, WiFi, fuel management and more. This is where investing in the right solution makes all the difference in terms of system integration, data analytics and an intuitive user interface.²

Reaping the Biggest Benefits from Fleet Management and GPS

Merely implementing a fleet management system isn’t enough to ensure government fleets can reap the full spectrum of benefits these technologies offer. Fleets must avail themselves of all the systems’ capabilities. That means extending usage beyond basic reporting and generic measurement tools to experience the “comprehensive suite of tools designed to support core fleet management functions, as well as enforce business practices, automate activities, aggregate and share data with external systems, and generate actionable information.”³

Extended functionalities to take advantage of include³:

• Parts cross-referencing
• Scheduled service/preventative maintenance
• Measuring and defining vehicle availability/downtime
• Custom reports
• Performance dashboards

Learn more about how your fleet can benefit from a mobility management and telematics solution.

Verizon Connect Helps Government Fleets Advance

Verizon Connect has extensive experience with government fleets, which uniquely positions us to understand – and solve for – their greatest challenges and pain points, including safety, productivity, and efficiency. We’re continually advancing solutions that can provide government fleets with:

• More accurate vehicle location, enhanced driver behavior, and increased risk mitigation
• Improved utilization and automated reporting
• A greater focus on reduced idle time, drive time, and overtime

Additionally, having multiple vendors, suppliers, logins, platforms, and technologies can slow productivity and add unnecessary complexity to government fleet operations. From embedded and aftermarket options for hardware and installations, to comprehensive mobile workforce and fleet management software solutions – fleets across all industries, including government, can benefit from one comprehensive GPS tracking solution. Learn more here.

Learn more about how The City of San Jose found success with fleet management solutions.

Sources

¹https://blog.chrwtrucks.com/fleet-management/top-3-biggest-challenges-fleet-management/

²https://www.government-fleet.com/channel/operations/article/story/2016/09/9-trends-in-public-fleet-management.aspx

³https://www.government-fleet.com/channel/software/article/story/2018/03/5-fleet-software-features-you-should-be-using.aspx