For many fleet managers, 'change' can feel like a six-letter swear word. In reality, change should be viewed as progress — an opportunity to modernize operations, streamline workflows, and deliver better service to the agencies we support.
In the city of Columbus Division of Fleet Management, we’ve embraced change as a strategic driver, using technology to revolutionize how we fuel, track, and measure performance across our 260-square-mile service area.
Our latest initiatives — from remote fuel monitoring, to a digital key-fob fueling system, to a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions dashboard — represent a transformation in how we operate, how we manage data, and how we deliver results.
Remote Fuel Tank Monitoring: Eliminating Guesswork, Reducing Risk
The Division of Fleet manages and maintains nearly 130 fuel tanks, including 35 fueling sites (petroleum and CNG) across the city and hundreds of generators at city facilities.
For decades, each end-user agency monitored and ordered its own fuel — often relying on manual calculations and rough estimates. This system was inefficient, inconsistent, and frequently led to last-minute emergencies, over-ordering, or fuel shortages.
To solve this, Columbus implemented “citywide remote tank monitoring” with satellite connectivity. This new system allows Fleet to take full responsibility for monitoring all fuel levels within the city, anticipating needs based on consumption history, and scheduling timely deliveries.
The result?
No more weekend emergencies or running out of fuel in critical moments.
No more training non-fleet staff on manual “stick-the-tank” measurements.
No more administrative hours lost to juggling surplus fuel between sites.
Fleet personnel have been fully trained to install, program, and manage monitoring devices across all sites, ensuring uninterrupted service for every agency. This upgrade transformed a decades-old pain point into a seamless, data-driven process.
From Two-Card Fueling to Digital Key Fobs: Streamlining and Securing Access
The city’s previous two-card fueling system — one card per vehicle and one per employee, for over 5,500 employees and 6,500 vehicles/equipment — had been in place for decades and plagued by inefficiencies.
Each fueling transaction required manual mileage entry by the driver, often leading to inaccurate data in the fleet management information System (FMIS). Lost or malfunctioning cards meant producing 12–20 replacement cards per week. Incorrect fuel types were occasionally dispensed in the wrong vehicles, resulting in costly repairs.
This antiquated system was recently replaced with a single, vehicle‑assigned digital key fob. Each fob is:
Permanently assigned to a specific vehicle.
Programmed to allow only the correct fuel type.
Synced to GPS data to automatically record accurate odometer readings into the FMIS.
By eliminating over 5,500 employee and 4,200 vehicles cards from circulation, fleet has improved data accuracy, reduced administrative burden, and eliminated misfueling incidents.
GHG Dashboard: Tracking the Impact of Every Gallon
Since 2010, Columbus Fleet has reported annually on greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions as part of its Green Fleet Action Plan (GFAP). Our sustainability-focused fueling strategies — including biodiesel, propane, ethanol, EVs, and CNG — have collectively reduced the city’s carbon footprint by more than 34% in the last 10 years.
However, until recently, leadership could not easily determine which fuel type generated the greatest greenhouse gas reduction per mile driven.
To address this, fleet partnered with our benchmarking firm to develop a GHG Dashboard that isolates the emission reductions attributable to each specific fuel type and mile driven. The dashboard, refined over the past year, now allows us to:
Accurately measure GHG reductions by fuel type and mile driven.
Inform leadership of the most cost-effective strategies.
Demonstrate fleet’s direct contribution to citywide sustainability goals by fuel type.
Data-Driven Solutions for Maximum Efficiency
Fleet management in Columbus is now defined by proactive decision-making, real-time data, and technology-enabled processes.
By adopting advanced solutions — from tank monitoring to automated fuel access to emissions tracking — we’ve reduced waste, improved accuracy and provided reliable, measurable results to our leadership and 32 end‑user agencies.
These upgrades are more than operational improvements — they’re a cultural shift. We’ve moved from reactive problem‑solving to proactive system management, aligning with our mission to deliver safe, efficient, and sustainable transportation solutions for the City of Columbus.
