Improved quality and savings make lifecycle costing — a modeling technique that considers all fixed and operating expenses of a vehicle or fleet function from acquisition to disposal — worth the effort for public sector fleets.
Facing serious budget cuts in 2004, the City's fleet department began reducing the fleet vehicle total, a process that had to overcome long-established practices and oppostion.
Extracting subrogation funds is no longer a daunting task for Kern County, Calif., which has discovered the advantages of sending accident reporting and management to an outside firm.
An early proponent of environmentally responsible operations, Glendale Water & Power (GWP) Fleet Services incorporated alternative-fueled vehicles in 2001, and even earlier began waste reduction recycling programs.
In 2007, the City of Fayetteville, Ark., converted 52 percent of its 545 fleet vehicles to biodiesel. It currently saves 2.4 cents per gallon using B-20 versus petroleum diesel.
In 2003, the City of Fort Worth’s fuel consortium started between its agency and Tarrant County. Since then, the consortium has grown from two government entities to 27 north Texas governmental entities today.
Government mandates to increase renewable fuels production have prompted a growing use of biodiesel. Industry groups are setting standards for quality and monitoring the fuel’s production, transport, and storage.