Minneapolis Green Fleet Strategy Saves Money and the Environment

Minneapolis Green Fleet Strategy Saves Money and the Environment

The City of Minneapolis has just introduced its "Green Fleet" strategy, a joint effort between the Mayor and the City Fleet Management Department. The City intends to continue this adaptive approach to greening its fleet as technology and the marketplace change in the future.

A "Green Fleet" Policy works by increasing fleet sustainability and reducing cost to taxpayers. Thanks to decisions made under the new Green Fleet strategy and investments in advanced technology, the City of Minneapolis now uses fewer vehicles in smarter ways, and has simultaneously been able to cut costs to taxpayers and reduce air pollution.

According to the city of Minneapolis, vehicles are the largest contributor of air pollution, which is linked to increased rates of cancer, heart and lung disease, asthma and allergies. Carbon dioxide in car exhaust has also been blamed as one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gases linked to climate change.

City officials said they are using a fleet GPS tracking system to reduce the short-term and long-term costs of owning and operating City vehicles. Also the GPS tracking system is helping the City to reduce vehicle idling, because 10 seconds of idling generally uses more fuel than restarting the car and produces more pollutants.

Minneapolis City Fleet Managers reported that the new Green Fleet Policy has already helped the city to reduce gas consumption in city vehicles and equipment by 6 percent from 2008 2010. The program reached a significant milestone when the city reduced the size of the fleet by 75 vehicles since 2008; and improved fleet fuel efficiency by purchasing 324 alternative or hybrid vehicles. THe city has also retrofitted large fuel guzzling vehicles to reduce vehicle emissions, which ws partially funded by Federal grant money.

Drivers can make a big impact by changing their driver habits. Minneapolis City regulations prohibit most vehicles from idling for more than three minutes. If you see a vehicle idling for more than a few minutes, the city says you should call 311 to report the driver.

Most people do not realize how much gas idling wastes. Idling gets a driver nowhere, yet it burns fuel and creates unnecessary air pollution. Exhaust from an idling car is more dangerous than exhaust from a moving car because exhaust from an idling vehicle carries a higher load of pollutants.

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