EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Municipalleadersknowthatcitizensrarely praisecityserviceswheneverythingruns smoothly—buttheynoticeimmediately whenthingsgowrong.Missedwaste collectionorbroken-downservicetrucks erodecitizentrustandsparkcomplaintsto cityhall.
Attheheartofthesedisruptionsisanaging municipalfleet.Trucksbeyondtheirprime arepronetobreakdowns,higher maintenancecosts,andunpredictable downtime.Thiscreatescascadingeffects: unhappycitizens,strainedbudgets,and publicfrustrationwithleadership.
BigTruckRental’s(BTR)CompleteFleet programoffersatransformativesolution: municipalitiescancycleinneworlike-new trucksevery18–24months,with maintenanceincluded,predictablecosts, andguaranteedreliability.Thispaper exploresthetruecostofrunningoldtrucks anddemonstrateshowCompleteFleet protectsservicecontinuity,citizen satisfaction,andpublictrust.
THE CHALLENGE: OLD FLEETS, UNHAPPY CUSTOMERS
MunicipalitiesacrossNorthAmericafacethe samechallenges:
AGING FLEET ASSETS: Trucksoftenremaininservicewell beyondtheiroptimallifecycle,leading tofrequentbreakdowns.
UNPREDICTABLE SERVICE DISRUPTIONS: Asinglebreakdowncanleaveentire neighborhoodsunserved.
CITIZEN SATISFACTION:
Missedpickupscreateaspikeincitizen complaints.
BUDGET STRAIN: Emergencyrepairs,towing,andovertimelaborcosts addupquickly,eatingintomunicipalbudgets.
POLITICAL PRESSURE:
Servicedisruptionsundermineconfidenceinelectedofficials andpublicworksleadership.
CASE IN POINT
Amunicipalfleetdirectorinthemidwestsharedthe breakdownsona10+year-oldtruckcausedover
40MISSINGROUTES
lastyear,leadingtohundredsofcitizencomplaintsand multipletensecouncilmeetings.
THE HIDDEN COSTS OF OLD TRUCKS
DOWNTIME COSTS: Foreverydayagarbage truckisdown,routespileup andrequireovertimepay.
MAINTENANCE INFLATION: Oldertruckscost20–40% moreannuallytomaintain thannewervehicles.
CITIZEN TRUST EROSION: Evenonemissedcollection cancreatewavesof frustrationacrossa community.
SAFETY RISKS: Breakdownsduringoperation putcrewsandcitizensatrisk. Whenthesefactorsaretallied, the“savings”ofextendingfleet lifedisappear.
THE SOLUTION: BTR COMPLETE FLEET
BTR’sCompleteFleetprogramdirectlyaddresses theseissues:
TRUCK REPLACEMENT EVERY 18-24 MONTHS
Alwaysoperatelike-newvehicles, avoidinghiddencostsofagingfleets.
PROACTIVE MAINTENANCE & UPTIME GUARANTEE.
Ensureyourtrucksarealways road-ready.Breakdownsand disruptionsbecomerare exceptions.
PREDICTABLE BUDGETING
Shiftfromunpredictablerepair spikestosteady,predictable monthlycosts-protecting taxpayerdollars.
WARRANTY COVERAGE ON TRUCKS
Alltrucksarecoveredunder manufacturerwarranty,helping municipalitiesavoidexpensive, big-ticketrepaircosts.
FLEXIBILITY AND SCALABILITY
Scaleyourfleetupordownasseasonal orpopulationneedschange,without procurementcycles.
CITIZEN SATISFACTION
Reliableservicedeliverymeans fewercomplaints,smoother councilmeetings,andhappier residents.
HOW COMPLETE FLEET WORKS
IDENTIFY NEEDS:
What Happens:
YouworkwithBTR’ssalesteamtodefinewhattypesoftrucksyouneed(side loaders,rearloaders,frontloaders,roll-offs,automatedfrontloaders,etc., how many,andthedesiredtimeline.
Key Features/What You Get:
Tailoredfleetplanbasedonyourmunicipality’scollection,patterns,route demands,anticipatedgrowth,andbudgetconstraints.
REPURPOSE/OFFSET ASSETS:
What Happens:
Ifyouhaveoldtrucks,BTRhelpsyouassesswhetheryoucansellorrepurpose thoseassetstooffsetcostsorreduceyourcapitalburden.
Key Features/What You Get: Improvesyourfinancialflexibilityandhelpsgenerateimmediatevaluefrom existingassets.
DELIVER TRUCKS:
What Happens:
BTRprovidescurrentmodelorlike-newtrucks,deliveredandreadyfordeployment
Key Features/What You Get: Newtrucksreducedowntimeandserviceinterruptions.Warranty-backedand includesfullmaintenancecoverage.
OPERATE AND MAINTAIN
What Happens:
YouusethetruckswhileBTRtakescareofscheduledmaintenance,ensuresparts, handleswarrantyissues,andsupportsuptime.
Key Features/What You Get: Minimizessurprises,ensuresreliability,andletsmunicipaloperationsrunwithout constantworryaboutbreakdowns.
CONTINUOUS REPLACEMENT:
What Happens:
Trucksarereplaced/refreshedonarecurringorongoingcycle(typicallyevery 18-24monthstohandlewarrantyissuesandsupportuptime
Key Features/What You Get: Alwaysmaintaininghighperformance,avoidingtheescalatingrepairand downtimecostsofoldervehicles
SECURE RECURRING RENTAL CONTRACT:
What Happens:
Ratherthanpurchasing,themunicipalityentersintoanongoingrental agreementwithflatmonthlypayments.
Key Features/What You Get: Predictability,lessupfrontcapitalexpenditures,andbettercash flowmanagement.
REAL RESULTS IN THE REAL WORLD:
LARGE URBAN MUNICIPALITY IN OHIO
Alargeurbanmunicipalityin Ohio,servinghundredsof thousandsofhomes,faced persistentservicedisruptions duetoanagingfleet.Trucks regularlybrokedown,forcing missedroutes,emergency overtime,andcitizen complaintsthatstrainedboth budgetsandpoliticalgoodwill.
BEFORE BTR:
DOWNTIME RISING WITH AGE
PriortopartneringwithBig TruckRental,thecity’sown datashoweddowntime hourspertrucksteadily increasingyearoveryear asvehiclesaged.ByYear10 oftheirownershipcycle, downtimehadspikedto wellover1,400hours annuallypertruck,leaving routesuncoveredand complaintsmounting.
AFTER BTR: PROVEN UPTIME AND
RELIABILITY
16BTR TRUCKS
InSeptember/October2023,the municipalityintroduced16BTRtrucksinto itsfleetunderarentalprogram.After6 monthsofuse,theresultswereclear:
2,755
Totaloperationaldaysdelivered
77
Only77totaldowntimedays(dueto manufacturerwarrantyissues,notneglect orlackofmaintenance)
97.2%
Animpressive97.2%fleetuptime(upfrom theirprevious60%)
THE IMPACT
ELIMINATED SERVICE DISRUPTIONS:
Reliabletrucksensureduninterrupted wastecollection,reducingcitizen frustration.
FEWER COMPLAINTS:
Withservicecontinuityrestored,citizens complaintstothecitydecreased significantly.
BUDGET PREDICTABILITY:
Insteadoffacingmountingrepairbills andovertimecosts,thecityachieved steadypredictablefleetcosts.
LEADERSHIP CREDIBILITY:
Publicworksleadershipregained confidencefrombothelectedofficialsand residents.
CITIZEN SATISFACTION = LEADERSHIP SUCCESS
Citizentrustisfragile.Servicedisruptions erodeconfidencequickly,whilereliable, uninterruptedservicebuildsquietbutlasting credibility.Publicworksdirectors,fleet managers,andcityleaderscanprotectboth theircitizensandtheirpoliticalcapitalby ensuringtheirfleetsneverfailthem. WithCompleteFleet,youcan: