Fleets

The City of Vancouver uses vehicles and equipment in order to do everything a municipality needs to do; like road repair, parking services, employee transportation, police services and more.  The City's Equipment Services (EQS) Branch provides fleet and equipment services and support services like manufacturing and facility repair.

A centralized fleet management team means that we don’t duplicate services and any synergies are maximized.

Another reason that fleet is centralized with EQS is so we can pursue the City’s objectives of balancing the City’s financial, social and environmental goals. 

Below is an overview of how we are achieving those goals.

Financial

EQS acts like a very large and diverse leasing company that owns all of the City’s equipment and provides full maintenance leases to our Fleet Partners (equipment users).  We charge a standard lease rate for each class of equipment and absorb the peaks and valleys of vehicle costs across the whole fleet so our fleet partners don’t have to.  This makes their budgeting and equipment needs much easier to manage.

All equipment is financed by a central fund called the Truck and Equipment Plant Account and the monthly lease rate includes repayments to this fund.

Centralized fleet control ensures that all City equipment is evaluated through a full life cycle cost analysis to determine the optimum life and ownership type (lease vs rent vs own).  This can only be done if all the equipment data such as maintenance, repair, parts, down time, resale and fuel are captured and analyzed consistently and correctly.

In house services such as outfitting, maintenance, repair and fabrication not only save money up front but reduce downtime which provides a substantial financial benefit to out fleet partners.

A dedicated fleet IT system allows EQS to track ample detail to determine best economic choices when making fleet decisions.

Social

EQS ensures that all regulations around noise and exhaust emissions are being met or exceeded for the benefit of the workers and the public who are exposed to the equipment.

EQS works closely with our Purchasing group to ensure that fair and consistent purchasing practices are followed and all vendors are able to bid on relevant tenders.

All equipment is specified and maintained to ensure a safe and ergonomic work environment for City of Vancouver employees.  When a manufacturer’s product does not meet our standards we will customize equipment for the employee’s benefit.

Environmental

To address the fleet's potential environmental impact we are trying new methods, fuels and technologies. This new approach should help us meet our climate protection action plan goals. Our City Fleet Managers are also sharing experiences and best practices with private fleets via the GreenFleetsBC network.

Right-Sized Fleet

One size does not fit all when it comes to matching the vehicles to the task. EQS works closely to determine what our Fleet Partners need to do their job and find the most cost effective and fuel efficient equipment to meet those needs.  We look at the full life of the equipment to determine best value and include capital costs, fuel use, maintenance cost, down time and resale cost.

Car Sharing

The City of Vancouver has a contract with the Cooperative Auto Network's (Car Co-op) Company Car to replace a number of our dedicated fleet vehicles at City Hall with additional low-emission Car Co-op vehicles. During work hours the car share vehicles are used by City employees for work-related travel. On evenings and weekends, the vehicles are available for car sharing by Car Co-op members. This helps facilitate the more rapid growth of car sharing in Vancouver and provides a more efficient fleet for City users.

Vehicle Technologies and Fuel Solutions

Where appropriate, the City purchases alternative fuel, electric and hybrid vehicles to minimize our carbon foot print. In fact, the City has added a Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle to its fleet in November 2008 and a Mitsubishi i-MiEV in November 2009. The public will be able to see and learn more about these vehicles at select community events throughout 2010. In fact, during the 2010 Public Works Week about 600 elementary school kids were able to experience this futuristic technology by climbing in our fleet iMieV (as pictured to the right). The City also uses of the maximum engine-manufacturer allowed blends of bio-diesel whenever possible.

We also implement low-energy enabling technologies such as speed limiters, timed engine shut-downs, low-power lighting systems and engine-off auxiliary heaters.

EQS is trialing the use of nitrogen in place of compressed air in tires to see if there are any cost and fuel saving benefits.

The City does not purchase air conditioning in our vehicles unless there is an operational requirement.  Our climate rarely gets hot enough where AC is required and there is substantial fuel and cost savings when AC is not used.

Education

Through our dedicated driver training program City drivers learn to use the best vehicle operating practices such as being idle free, keeping tires inflated, and driving steady and slow to use less fuel. We also maintain the vehicles at a high level for peak performance.

E3 Rating System

The City of Vancouver committed to greener vehicle fleets by becoming a charter member of the groundbreaking E3 fleet program (Energy, Environment and Excellence) . E3, initiated by the Fraser Basin Council, is a points-based rating system that grades whole fleets of vehicles on their overall energy, emissions and financial performance. The program is expected to help at least 600,000 fleet vehicles across Canada go green. Vancouver is among 14 other cities, and companies to adopt the E3 system so far. In fact, Vancouver and Delta received Canada's first-ever gold ratings for fleet excellence.