Jersey City Mayor Announced GPS Tracking For City Vehicles

We’ve reported a number of different ways GPS tracking is used to save employers money. Well, it shouldn’t be a surprise that government agencies would want the same benefits. The mayor of Jersey City recently announced that city vehicles will soon be tracked with GPS technology in order to reduce fuel costs and eliminate personal use of vehicles by employees.

 

“With this program we are creating mechanisms for accountability,” said Mayor Steve Fulop in a statement. “Any employee who takes a city vehicle outside of city bounds or uses it for a purpose other than city business, we will know and we will discipline such behavior.” The mayor is known for advocating limited use of company vehicles. When he was on the City Council, he fought numerous times to restrict use against the former mayor’s administration.

 

The first stage of the GPS fleet tracking program will include a 30-day trial, tracking just 20 city Department of Public Works vehicles. The second stage will extend the tracking to 95 of the department’s vehicles. The annual estimated cost for monitoring the city vehicles is $35,000. The cost is justified because the tracking eliminates wasteful fuel costs, including the costs of unauthorized trips.

 

“Already this GPS program has helped eliminate wasteful vehicle idling times thereby reducing fuel consumption,” Fulop said. “It has also eliminated unauthorized stops and after-hour usage by city employees and has greatly improved productivity while creating efficiency and accountability throughout the Department of Public Works.”

 

The new mayor takes wasteful spending seriously. Even before his inauguration on July 1st, the vowed to prohibit any non-emergency staff from driving a city-owned vehicle home. The GPS program allows managers to navigate the best routes and to monitor employees’ activity.

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Jersey City Mayor Announced GPS Tracking For City Vehicles