The City of Austin’s Fleet Services Department is the most recent fleet to receive the Government Fleet Management Alliance’s (GFMA) Certified Fleet Management Operation (CFMO) this August.

The city is one of the 15 organizations in the U.S. to be recognized as an industry-competitive fleet management operation. It is also the largest agency in North America to complete the certification, according to Jim Wright, associate director of the GFMA.

The CFMO certification benchmarks fleet practices against private-sector companies with which the public-sector group competes most directly. Agencies are tested on more than 120 specific criteria addressing 20 critical areas of fleet management. Each one of these categories is designed to make sure a fleet operation is being the most cost-effective, efficient, competitive, and well-managed.

“We take pride and work toward having our fleet be the best it can be as we strive to be the best-managed city in the country. I’m extremely proud of all our staff and the work we do daily to keep up with the industry’s best practices," said Fleet Officer Gerry Calk.

Although there are currently only 15 fleets that have passed the CFMO program, there are more than 150 fleets attempting to join the list, according to Wright. 

"There are some that have completed the [CFMO] process in a year, and then there were some who it took three to four years,” Wright said.

Wright also factors in the fleet size when it comes to the amount of time it takes to become certified.

The Austin fleet consists of more than 6,000 vehicles.