By Elias Hazou
THE use and servicing of vehicles in the broader public sector costs the taxpayer millions each year, and there is significant scope for generating savings, research has found.
The findings of a study, carried out by Offsite Auto, a private company, and commissioned by the DISY party, were on Monday handed to transport minister Marios Demetriades.
The sample-based study highlighted the utter lack of a centralised or streamlined system monitoring how much is spent on fuel and servicing.
It also discovered huge discrepancies in these costs across the central government, semi-governmental organisations and municipalities.
For example, one municipality’s budget for servicing vehicles in 2013 came to €343,000 for 108 vehicles, averaging at €3,175 per vehicle.
By comparison, one state agency paid €780,000 to service 1,249 vehicles, which worked out to €624 per vehicle – significantly less.
Another state department spent €647,000 on fuel for 314 vehicles, or €2,060 per vehicle. By comparison, a sampled municipality paid €701,000 for 108 vehicles, or €6,490 per vehicle.
Vehicles used by the central government are inspected and serviced by the Electro-Mechanical Services, while the military and the police have their own services. The study found, however, that these procedures are both time-consuming and complicated, as most data is compiled on paper, not electronically.
At the same time, semi-governmental organisations and local government authorities have their own maintenance systems.
Moreover, there is no central register of vehicles used by the broader public sector. The study recommends creating such a register, as well as a unified check-list for the various costs at each department – operational cost per kilometre, distance in kilometres covered per vehicle, total servicing costs and other data.
The study also recommends installing GPS on vehicles used by semi-governmental organisations and municipalities. The government has begun rolling out such a system for vehicles used by the central government.
In addition, the state does not have insurance coverage for its vehicles, and in many cases the fleets are aged. The study proposes that the government consider leasing.
It further recommends renegotiating contracts with car dealers to secure better terms.
Presenting the findings, DISY leader Averof Neofytou said that while vehicle operating and servicing costs may appear to be a trivial subject, in reality tens of millions are being spent each year.
For his part, the transport minister noted that there is considerable room for improvement.
“This is why a first concrete step has been taken, with the installation of a telematics system, which is on course for implementation within 2015, relating to cars used in the public sector,” Demetriades said.
Telematics refers to the use of wireless devices and “black box” technologies to transmit data in real time back to an organisation. Typically, it’s used in the context of automobiles, whereby installed or after-factory boxes collect and transmit data on vehicle use, maintenance requirements or automotive servicing.
