Over the past year, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has worked to increase efficiency and promote the use of alternative fuels and telematics across the federal fleet, according to a blog post from the agency.

GSA Fleet handles vehicle purchasing for all federal agencies except the U.S. Postal Service. This allows the agency to procure vehicles at a lower rate. In fiscal-year (FY) 2017, GSA averaged a 20.6% discount on vehicle purchases, or an estimated $381 million saved.

The agency has also promoted the use of alternative-fuel vehicles. More than 2,000 alternative-fuel vehicle (AFV) configurations were awarded in the last fiscal year. In addition, GSA began offering a plug-in electric hybrid (PHEV) SUV and re-introduced a hybrid-electric SUV offering. AFVs accounted for 77.5% of all federal fleet vehicles procured in FY-2017.

Adopting AFVs requires infrastructure, too. In FY-2017, GSA awarded an electric vehicle supply equipment blanket purchase agreement, which allows customers to purchase electric vehicle charging station solutions more easily. The agreement includes five charging station manufacturers and 76 equipment configurations, including Level 1, Level 2, and DC Fast Charging options.

In addition, GSA Fleet has made strides in its effort to install telematics. A small-scale implementation of telematics will be completed in FY-2018. If this is successful, the agency will begin installing telematics devices on all new vehicle acquisitions beginning FY-2019. This telematics data will allow GSA Fleet to identify opportunities to reduce operating costs and automate manual business processes.

Related: Telematics Implementation in the Federal Fleet