Case Study

City of Minneapolis, Minnesota
Department of Regulatory Services
Fleet Evaluation and Optimization

PFM worked with the City of Minneapolis, Department of Regulatory Services, to evaluate the operation of its 114-vehicle fleet. PFM's services included offering recommendations on vehicle optimization and elimination, and the development of a replacement cycle process.

PFM calculated the lifecycle cost of vehicles, including maintenance and fuel costs. Under-utilized vehicles in the fleet were identified through consolidating data from multiple sources. The PFM Quantitative Strategies Group developed a model to organize and analyze parking garage data to determine when vehicles were idle. This information was them augmented with mileage information and consolidated in a Microsoft Access database to determine the overall usage per vehicle.

PFM developed and recommended a replacement cycle process for the Department of Regulatory Services. The replacement cycle process included procurement mechanisms, appropriate vehicle choices, options for an annual purchasing plan, different financing approaches, and disposal methods. Taking into account cost and the Department of Regulatory Services job-related vehicle requirements, PFM provided detailed information on "environmentally friendly" transportation systems and provided "green" vehicle options.

At the conclusion of the project, PFM summarized the analysis and recommendations into three sections: (1) Vehicle Optimization Report which identified vehicles to be eliminated and cost savings; (2) Annual Purchasing Plan which combined a "green" fleet policy with an appropriate replacement cycle; (3) Policies and Procedures which offered refinement on current fleet operations.