PHOENIX -The Central Arizona Project (CAP) recently automated the management of its fleet of state vehicles through the use of FleetCommander Web-based fleet and motor pool technology, according to a release from Agile Access Control, Inc., the creator of FleetCommander. CAP is the largest diversion canal and aqueduct system ever constructed in the United States.

According to CAP officials, the system has significantly freed up staff while improving service to its 201 fleet users. "In the past, we've had to take reservations in person or by e-mail, while keeping track of them by hand in a log book. With FleetCommander, our users can reserve a vehicle at their convenience online. No more sticking magnets on a big board in our office," said CAP Fleet Manager Eddie Case. "We were writing with one hand and erasing with the other." Case says one of the major improvements he's seen in the past three months since implementing the technology is in vehicle utilization. "We have been able to schedule up to three separate reservations for one vehicle in a single day," he says. "We were never able to do that before."

The CAP fleet comprises a mix of SUVs, 4X4s, sedans, and trucks dedicated to managing the Colorado River for delivery of water to its customers. The 336-mile-long CAP system brings about 1.6 million acre-feet of renewable Colorado River water to its customers, which are cities, businesses, agriculture and Indian communities in Pima, Pinal and Maricopa counties. Through the implementation of FleetCommander, the CAP fleet's near-term goal is to achieve significant cost savings by eliminating or pooling its vehicles. "With FleetCommander, we are now able to collect the utilization data we need to make smart decisions about where to cut or pool vehicles while still enabling our drivers to have access to the vehicles they need to do their work," Case said.

CAP is hoping to add FleetCommander's key control system to further streamline operations. FleetCommander's automated key control system would enable the CAP fleet staff to provide secure, 24-hour access to vehicles using self-service kiosks, according to the release.