In terms of total fleet size, Los Angeles operates about 14,455 vehicles and 8,600 pieces of equip- ment, which makes it the largest municipal fleet in the country.

Los Angeles operates more fleet vehicles than the state fleet of Illinois.

In fact, only five states – California, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Texas – operate larger fleets.

If Los Angeles were a private-sector fleet, it would be the nation’s ninth largest commercial fleet, exceeded only by United Parcel Service, Federal Express, Coca Cola Enterprises, State Farm, TCI, Frito Lay, Service Master, and Sears.

This information was discovered while gathering the data for Automotive Fleet’s first-ever survey to determine the fleet size of the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the United States.

The data are broken down by the number of passenger cars, light-duty trucks, vans, sport/utility vehicles, medium/heavy-duty trucks, and miscellaneous equipment, which run the gamut from forklifts to tractors.

One criteria used by municipalities to determine total vehicle fleet size is the number of "curb miles," which refer to the miles of paved streets within the city, according to Arleen Taylor, director, fleet reengineering, Department of General Services, for Los Angeles.

In the case of Los Angeles, the number of curb miles correlates with the total vehicle fleet size, Taylor said. She points out, for instance, that although New York has double the population of Los Angeles, Los Angeles has twice as many curb miles – 80,000 – as New York’s; hence the reason that Los Angeles has a larger fleet size than New York.

Three Trends Impacting Municipal Fleets

The three key trends that are affecting municipal fleets are:

• Downsizing of fleet size primarily due to shrinking budgets.

• Increased acquisition of multi-purpose-type vehicles to maximize use of vehicles and equipment.

• The struggle to comply with buying mandates for alternative-fuel vehicles required by federal, state, and/or municipal regulations.