Columbus began installing GPS fleet tracking systems in city-owned vehicles in order to accomplish two things, save on fuel and eliminate misuse by employees.
Close to 840 vehicles, including those in the police and fire divisions and Recreation and Parks Department, have been equipped with GPS fleet tracking devices that monitor speed, idling, location and the vehicle’s path. They will send alerts to the fleet managers when the vehicles are exceeding the speed limit or if a vehicle is left idling, two main fuel wasting driver behaviors.
A total of 2,000 city vehicles will be equipped with these GPS tracking devices by the end of this year, costing the city about $1.5 million, said Kelly Reagan, the fleet administrator. “This helps fulfill Mayor (Michael B.) Coleman’s ‘green’ action plan, and the GPS is one small piece of that,” added Reagan.
City officials also pointed to GPS sensors as an answer to last year’s finding that showed nearly 450 employees logged 5.6 million miles in vehicles they use for work and to commute to and from home that the administration could not account for at that time. The tracking system will will monitor all the city’s vehicle to also ensure that the miles logged correspond to actual miles driven.
Source: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/02/28/city-installing-2000-gps-devices-to-monitor-fleet.html
Image Source: http://www.government-fleet.com/fc_images/news/aq.jpg