The City of Evanston, Ill., council has approved the purchase of a telematics system for 167 of its fleet vehicles. The city hopes the system will allow it to reduce its fleet size; lower fuel costs through improved routing, monitoring speed, and reduced idling time; improved vehicle maintenance; and potentially provide a real-time snow plow locator map, according to council meeting documents.

The city will purchase the system from Verizon for a one-time expense of $20,108 for the devices and recurring monthly expense of $3,165 for the service. Funding for the devices is provided by Public Works, and the monthly expenses will be charged back to user departments.

Staff determined Verizon was the lowest cost provider because of its contract with the federal government. The system performed well in the pilot, and staff considered it easy to use.

Telematics devices will be used on vehicles that include recycling trucks, street sweepers, and parking enforcement vehicles.