Government Fleet News

VIENNA, VA - The Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS) in partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation announced the launch of "Drive Safely Work Week 2010: Focus... Safe Driving is Serious Business," Oct. 4-8.

Tags: Drive Safely Work Week, NETS, U.S. DOT

CHATTANOOGA, TN - The debate over take-home cars for Chattanooga employees — especially police officers — ranges from adding take-home cars to the fleet to getting rid of the take-home cars altogether to charging employees for using them. City Council requested in early July that the mayor’s office and finance department study a recurring or mileage-based user fee for city employees who use take-home cars.

Tags: City of Chattanooga, Police Vehicles, Take-Home Vehicles

GREENSBORO, NC - For over 15 years, Guilford County has been buying gas from the City of Greensboro. That’s now changed after a ruling from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) stated that it wasn't legal for counties or cities to sell gas to other entities, public or private.

Tags: City of Greensboro, Guilford County, IRS, Selling Gasoline

COLUMBUS, OH - Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman congratulated the Columbus Division of Fleet Management for being honored by the 100 Best Fleets program as the 16th best fleet operation in the country, up from No. 17 the previous year.

Tags: 100 Best Fleets, City of Columbus

WASHINGTON - PERC and the other members of the Alternative Fuel Trade Alliance continued their nationwide training program on alternative fuel at a workshop for fleet managers on July 23 in Casa Grande, Ariz.

Tags: Alternative Fuel, Clean Cities, PERC, Propane

PALM SPRINGS, CA - The City of Palm Springs announced on July 21 its Office of Sustainability has received at $60,000 grant from the Coachella Valley Air Quality Enhancement Grant Program for a new Electric Vehicle Pilot Program.

Tags: City of Palm Springs, Electric Cars, Grant Funding, Green Fleet

SOUTH BEND, IN - Two 2010 Priuses made in Japan have been at the center of a debate about whether St. Joseph County should purchase vehicles made outside the United States. The decision on whether or not to purchase the vehicles now rests with the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners.

Tags: Buy American, Green Fleet, Hybrid Vehicle, Prius, St. Joseph County

PITTSBURGH - City officials say a proposed five-year, $36 million deal to manage and maintain Pittsburgh's fleet of 1,000 vehicles won't save money, but opens the door for a city-county merger of such services.

Tags: Allegheny County, City of Pittsburgh, Maintenance Contract, Merger

ATLANTA - An Atlanta Public Works employee is under criminal investigation after the city accused him of stealing gasoline from city gas pumps reserved for city fleet vehicles.

Tags: City of Atlanta, fuel management, Gasoline Theft

MOLINE, IL - Fleet manager J.D. Schulte and his staff were honored by City of Moline Committee-of-the-Whole on Tuesday for their No. 10 ranking of top public sector fleets, announced at the recent Government Fleet Expo & Conference in Austin, Texas.

Tags: 100 Best Fleets, City of Moline, GFX, Green Fleet

LAKEWOOD, WA - Lakewood police are refurbishing some of their squad cars rather than buying new ones, a decision that could save the city $15,000 per upgraded car and help the vehicles handle better on the street.

Tags: City of Lakewood, Maintenance, Police Vehicles, Vehicle Replacement

PORTLAND, OR - The Portland City Council unanimously passed a resolution Wednesday to enact a new plan for electric vehicles that includes supportive city policies for electric cars as well as purchasing electric vehicles for the city's fleet.

Tags: City of Portland, City Policy, Electric Cars, Green Fleet

WASHINGTON - The Department of Energy has released a new report on the economic impact of Recovery Act investments in advanced batteries and vehicles.

Tags: Department of Energy, electric vehicles

NEW ORLEANS - The number of City Hall employees allowed to take home city-owned vehicles has dropped by nearly a fifth since New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu took office in May and is expected to plummet by another 50 percent as his administration moves to implement a stricter policy.

Tags: City of New Orleans, Take-Home Vehicles

WILKES-BARRE, PA - Six Luzerne County sheriff deputies who use their own vehicles to serve civil documents will be paid a combined $84,551, prompting some officials to push for the use of county vehicles.

Tags: County Vehicles, Luzerne County, Reimbursement

DENVER, CO - Two Recovery Act-supported grants totaling $800,000 have been dedicated to increase the use of natural gas as a transportation fuel in Colorado.

Tags: Fueling Station, Grant Funding, Green Fleet, Natural Gas

RAMONA, CA - San Diego County put its surplus fleet, including some specialty vehicles, on the auction block Saturday, July 17.

Tags: Public Auction, Remarketing, San Diego County

RIVERSIDE, CA - Riverside County department heads will no longer be eligible to use county-owned cars for business or pleasure. Board members and other elected officials, however, will have the option of continuing to use county-owned vehicles or driving their own, with a monthly stipend to offset the costs of maintenance and gas.

Tags: County Cars, Reimbursement, Riverside County

HOLLAND, MI - The cost of the high-powered batteries needed for a coming wave of electric cars is projected to drop by as much as 70 percent over the next five years, according to a U.S. government forecast.

Tags: Electric Car, Electric Car Battery, Green Fleet, Obama

GRAND JUNCTION, CO - Mesa County commissioners last week unanimously adopted a fuel conservation policy that will encourage employees to reduce engine idling and shorten the number and length of trips.

Tags: Fuel Conservation Policy, fuel management, Mesa County

LA MESA, CA - The City of La Mesa installed on June 25 the FuelMaster fuel management system on its fleet of 210 vehicles.

Tags: City of La Mesa, fuel management, Fuel Management Systems

SAN FRANCISCO - City CarShare and the City of San Francisco have entered a formal agreement to extend car sharing to City and County employees. CarShare’s fleet will provide cars as the City retires its older vehicles, allowing the City to manage a smaller vehicle fleet, with lower purchase and maintenance costs, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Tags: CarSharing, City of San Francisco, Green Fleet

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently proposed the 2011 percentage standards for the four fuels categories under the agency's Renewable Fuel Standard program, known as RFS2.

Tags: EPA, renewable fuels standard