NYC Fleet Faces Rising Expenses, Collisions

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's Office released its annual Mayor's Management Report for fiscal-year 2017, which compares city data to the previous fiscal year. Among its findings, expenditures are up for the citywide fleet, and safety training has increased but continues to be a concern.

The citywide fleet reached 30,037 units in FY-2017, up from 29,374 the year before. The city’s target was 29,500 vehicles for FY-2017 and 29,300 vehicles for FY-2018. This number includes vehicles managed by the city's Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS), as well as vehicles from nine city agencies who manage their own fleets, including the Police, Fire, Parks and Recreation, and Sanitation Departments.

In addition, fleet costs are rising. Fleet repair expenditures increased from $235M in FY-16 to $248M in FY-2017. In August, the fleet procurement reached a record high, and fuel expenditures also increased.

The reported also noted improvements in service. The fleet's vehicle in-service rate has increased from 91% to 92%, and daily fleet in-service targets achieved have increased from 89% to 100%.

Safety training is up, but collisions are still a concern. 1,881 employees of DCAS-managed fleet agencies were trained in defensive driving, up from 1,690 in FY-2016. However, preventable collisions involving city vehicles is up, from 2,815 in FY-2016 to 3,095 in FY-2017. Of these cases, 161 took place in DCAS-managed fleet vehicles. Injuries resulting from these collisions also increased, from 510 in FY-2016 to 727 in FY-2017. 70 of these reported injuries were from collisions involving DCAS-managed vehicles. 

The city has implemented several initiatives to improve safety on the road, through its Vision Zero program, the addition of side guards on trucks, and banning hands-free phone use in fleet vehicles. In July, the city reported the lowest number of traffic-related fatalities on city streets ever measured.

Click here to read the full report.