Caltrans Chooses Verizon For Fleet Management

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Caltrans, the California Department of Transportation has chosen Verizon to provide its fleet management solution. The solution, which provides GPS-based units to assist in the dispatch of its statewide fleet and improve the department’s overall fleet asset management practices will be deployed across 7,500 vehicles by the end of this month.

The fleet management industry is estimated to be a worth $30.45 billion by 2018, according to RnRMarketResearch. Competitiveness among the transportation service providers, CO2 emission control norms, and rising fuel prices are driving that market. In-car WiFi technologies, GPS and the Internet of Things are also pushing the market to new levels.

For California, the fleet management solution will also enable Caltrans to automate its manual usage reports (called Cartags) currently used by department employees. Caltrans anticipates that the automation of employee usage reports alone will yield estimated annual savings of 28,000 salary hours, or nearly $500,000.

Caltrans’ decision to proceed with a large-scale deployment of the Verizon Networkfleet solution follows the conclusion of a pilot project between July 2012 and April 2014 where 200 vehicles in various locations across the state were equipped with GPS-based units powered by Verizon.

CivSource has previously reported on the changes happening in state fleets, not only through technology like the Verizon offering, but by the adoption of natural gas and electric vehicles in an effort to increase fuel efficiency and cut costs. Oklahoma recently passed a package of laws designed to increase the use of compressed natural gas or CNG vehicles in their state. State officials say that those cars realize better fuel efficiency than traditional vehicles.