Monday, October 31, 2005
Contact: Jessica Robinson, 573-751-0290
New Fleet Management Initiatives Result in Significant Savings
JEFFERSON CITY–Gov. Matt Blunt today announced two new initiatives that will improve state vehicle fleet management and save more than a half million dollars annually.
"The new policies are another example of the significant savings we have recognized through improved management and efficiency," Blunt said. "I applaud the interdepartmental team and the Office of Administration who worked to identify and implement these initiatives to reduce waste and cost for Missouri taxpayers."
The Office of Administration’s (OA’s) new state vehicle use policy requires employees to choose the least costly travel option by using the Trip Optimizer. The online tool uses a series of questions to calculate potential travel costs and identify the most cost effective travel option for instate single trips. Agencies will use the Trip Optimizer to calculate travel costs and ensure employees use the least expensive travel option for each trip.
To further reduce costs, OA is implementing Smart Lease. The program will generate immediate savings by providing state vehicles to agencies with high levels of mileage reimbursement. Smart Lease also leverages the state’s buying and finance power by consolidating fleet leases and purchases. The program will allow the state to refinance agencies’ existing lease-purchase obligations, fund the energy performance initiative and finance future equipment needs for the state.
"State vehicles generally provide the lowest cost transportation option for state employees. It makes sense and saves money to work together to use our state vehicles efficiently and to the fullest extent possible," OA Commissioner Mike Keathley said. "The new policy and resource tools will help ensure that state government makes the best use of taxpayers’ hard earned dollars."
Earlier this fall, Blunt presented the Governor’s Award for Quality and Productivity to the interagency Fleet Management team for its work to improve the state vehicle fleet use and efficiency. The team developed a comprehensive State Vehicle Policy, implemented a web-based Fleet Information System to track state vehicles and their costs, increased the utilization of state vehicles, and "rightsized" the number of vehicles in the state fleet.
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