City of Honolulu Abandons GPS Gear for Parks Vehicles
HONOLULU – Honolulu officials have scrapped a $1.5 million GPS satellite system, which was designed to dispatch parks vehicles to trouble spots, because the fleet lacks radios to contact the vehicles, according to the Honolulu Advertiser.
HONOLULU – Honolulu officials have scrapped a $1.5 million GPS satellite system, which was designed to dispatch parks vehicles to trouble spots, because the fleet lacks radios to contact the vehicles, according to the Honolulu Advertiser. Officials are looking for other uses for the equipment. Currently the system is installed in 106 parks vehicles. Once the gear was installed in 2002, it was never used. City Council Budget Committee Chairwoman Ann Kobayashi said the project was a waste of taxpayers' money and that she never found out who pushed for the purchase. Bill Balfour, the former parks director, had said he had no use for the tracking equipment when it was first installed, according to Kobayashi. Information Technology Director Gordon Bruce said parks managers had no desire to track employees, which would have required putting a parks worker at the monitoring station rather than working in the parks. Similar tracking equipment was installed on city ambulances and fire trucks, and is being used because those vehicles have radios. Derrick Young, of the Emergency Medical Services Department, said the equipment is used daily by the ambulance dispatch. Honolulu Fire Capt. Kenison Tejada said the department found a way to use the GPS technology as part of the department's new onboard computer system.
More Operations

How Government Fleets Are Turning Connected Vehicle Data Into Practical Decisions
Public sector fleets are using connected technology to improve visibility, but the bigger challenge is building the processes to act on the information it provides.
Read More →
RoadFlex Brings Fuel Tax Compliance and Audit-Ready Reporting to Government, Public Works Fleets
New capabilities aim to help public-sector and public works fleets streamline fuel tax exemptions, reclamation, reconciliation, and audit-ready reporting.
Read More →
2026 Public Fleet Hall of Fame Inductees Honored
This year's class includes leaders whose work has helped shape the public fleet industry.
Read More →
David Renschler Receives 2026 Legendary Lifetime Achievement Award
Andy Campbell of Sourcewell, which partnered with Government Fleet in presenting the award, recognized Renschler.
Read More →
Ross Jackson Jr. Named 2026 Public Sector Fleet Manager of the Year
His leadership, innovation, and commitment to excellence earned him one of the industry's top honors.
Read More →
Public Fleet Professionals Set to Converge as GFX Gets Underway
Known as the largest gathering of public fleet professionals in the nation, GFX will feature in-depth training sessions, emerging fleet technologies, and access to leading suppliers and service providers.
Read More →
The Technician Pipeline: Finding, Keeping, and Promoting Techs Within the Operation
A look at where to find good talent, what fleets are doing to incentivize those techs to stay within the fleet, and what promotion looks like for a technician within the public sector.
Read More →
5 Public Fleet Stories Worth Revisiting Before GFX | The May Dispatch
Public fleet leaders are being asked to prepare for more, communicate better, and make decisions that hold up under pressure.
Read More →
Drive More Profit with Greater Fleet Uptime
Fleet downtime costs money. JASPER helps keep vehicles on the road with quality remanufactured components, fast nationwide delivery, and reliable solutions that boost uptime and profitability.
Read More →Are You Tracking Your Fleet's True Total Cost of Ownership?
Bobit Business Media surveyed 190 fleet professionals and found that while most fleets are tracking costs, fragmented systems and data gaps are keeping true TCO visibility out of reach. With rising pressure to control spend in an increasingly volatile environment, the gap between what fleets think they know and what the data actually shows is wider than you might expect. See how your peers are managing costs today and where the industry still has room to improve.
Read More →


