City of Miami Gardens: Cutting costs, saving lives with Smart Fleet Management

As one of Florida’s youngest cities, the City of Miami Gardens has rapidly grown since its incorporation in 2003. Now the third-largest city in Miami-Dade County, the city quickly built up essential services, including a police department. However, this growth brought fleet management challenges, with aging vehicles, rising maintenance costs, and inefficient fuel usage. 

Craig Clay, Deputy City Manager, and Bernard Buxton-Tetteh, Public Works Director, recognized the need for a smarter solution. To modernize their fleet and take advantage of smart technology, the City of Miami Gardens partnered with Enterprise Fleet Management and Geotab, paving the way for a more efficient, data-driven approach to fleet management. 

Results at a glance

• Idle time reduced from 75% to 68%, delivering a 9X return on investment
• Over $60,00 saved annually on fuel and operational costs
• $1.1M gained from vehicle resale, reinvested into fleet upgrades
• Improved driver safety
• Lower insurance premiums 
• Better work-life balance 

“We’ve relied on Geotab’s data to make informed decisions, improve efficiency, and be more proactive rather than reactive in how we manage our fleet.” – Craig Clay, Deputy City Manager, City of Miami Gardens 

The challenge: Managing an aging fleet in a growing city 

The City of Miami Gardens faced significant challenges as its fleet aged over time. When the city first established its police department in 2007, it purchased city-owned vehicles for its officers. However, as the fleet grew and aged, maintenance costs surged, fuel consumption increased, and vehicle downtime became a frequent issue. 

In addition to police vehicles, the city’s fleet spans public works, parks, and administrative departments. Managing such a diverse and expanding fleet required more than traditional fleet management solutions – it needed advanced technology to optimize operations, reduce costs, and improve safety. 

“Our aging fleet was affecting everything – maintenance costs, downtime, overall efficiency. We knew we couldn’t keep up.” – Craig Clay, Deputy City Manager, City of Miami Gardens 

The solution: Geotab powers efficient city fleet management 

To tackle these fleet management challenges, the City of Miami Gardens partnered with Enterprise Fleet Management, a Geotab partner, and implemented Geotab’s GO9 telematics system across its 350+ vehicle fleet. This technology provided real-time data on vehicle performance, driver behavior, fuel efficiency, and route optimization, empowering the city to make informed decisions and improve operations across the board.

 “I’ve been able to use the data to educate our staff, and we’ve seen improvement since those conversations.” – Bernard Buxton-Tetteh, Public Works Director, City of Miami Gardens 

Enterprise Fleet Management provided comprehensive fleet services, including vehicle leasing, maintenance management, and access to their resale program. This support enabled the city to transition to more efficient vehicles while reducing insurance costs thanks to improved driver safety data from Geotab.

Beyond these services, the partnership’s ongoing program management has been instrumental in the city’s success. Enterprise’s client strategy manager regularly collaborates with the city to analyze fleet data trends and develop actionable plans that keep their operations lean. At the same time, the City of Miami Gardens benefits from Geotab’s extended customer support team, who conducts quarterly performance reviews to ensure continuous improvement and identify any issues before they arise.

“Geotab’s data on idling and fuel waste has saved us hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.” – Craig Clay, Deputy City Manager, City of Miami Gardens 

Impact: Data-driven decisions improve safety and efficiency 

Since integrating Geotab telematics and partnering with Enterprise Fleet Management, the City of Miami Gardens has achieved substantial improvements in fleet efficiency and cost savings: 

Idle time reduced from 75% to 68%, delivering a 9X return on investment: Geotab’s telematics helped optimize fleet operations, leading to measurable cost savings.

$61,600+ saved annually: By reducing idle time, the city significantly cut fuel and operational costs. 

$1.1M gained from vehicle resale: Through Enterprise Fleet Management’s resale program, the city generated equity from older vehicles, reinvesting it into newer, more efficient models. 

Improved driver safety: Real-time monitoring of driving behaviors led to safer driving practices. 

Lower insurance premiums: Safer operations and data-backed improvements in driver accountability contributed to lower insurance costs. 

Geotab’s telematics technology proved its value during an incident involving a Miami Gardens police officer who fell unconscious while on duty. Fleet managers quickly identified that the officer’s vehicle had been stationary for an unusual amount of time. Using the data, they pinpointed the vehicle’s location and relayed the information to first responders, who delivered lifesaving assistance. 

“It was definitely worth the investment for that moment alone.” – Craig Clay, Deputy City Manager, City of Miami Gardens 

The next steps: Expanding the smart fleet vision

Looking ahead, the City of Miami Gardens plans to expand its use of Geotab’s telematics across other city operations, including public works and emergency services. The city is also exploring the use of Geotab’s asset trackers to monitor non-vehicle assets, such as heavy-duty equipment, as part of its broader Smart City initiative, which also includes Big Belly trash management systems and smart traffic lights. 

With ongoing support from Enterprise Fleet Management and Geotab, the City of Miami Gardens is confident in its ability to continue optimizing its fleet and delivering essential public services efficiently, all while enjoying the benefits of smart, data-driven technology

“Geotab and Enterprise have transformed how we manage our fleet. I know there’s even more we can do with fleet data, and I’m encouraging our team to take full advantage of it for even greater efficiency.” – Bernard Buxton-Tetteh, Public Works Director, City of Miami Gardens