Municipal Fleet Embraces Managed Competition

Managed competition is a phrase that has cropped up more and more in the thinking of cost-conscious cities in the upkeep of their vehicle fleets.

It’s a simple philosophy in which government agencies are measured against similar operations in the private sector — and if they don’t measure up, an outside contractor gets the business.

Though bidding for government projects has been a common practice, managed competition has given it a new twist. It has allowed for the privatization of some services that were the domain of government. Among the municipalities that have adopted this mind-set is the city known for its tourist attractions of Graceland and Beale Street.

Welcome to Memphis. The city owns a fleet of 4,251 vehicles — from passenger cars to Class 8 tractors — for its municipal workforce, and the Division of General Service has the job of keeping them up and running.

In this age of the shrinking public dollar, we are looking at how we can best maintain the city’s equipment for the best price,” said Darrell Eldred, deputy director of the division.

Mayor W. W. Herenton brought in the managed competition philosophy when he was first elected in 1991. The practice has spread to other cities, including Indianapolis and Philadelphia.

Herenton’s counterpart in Indianapolis, Stephen Goldsmith, made privatization of municipal services a cornerstone of his first administration in 1992. Goldsmith, now in his second term, required the city’s fleet department to go head-to-head with outside vendors for work.

For the full story, see the Feb. 15 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.