Case Study: City of Seattle achieves major emissions reductions and $2M fuel savings with Element Fleet Management

City of Seattle drives forward with sustainable solutions for fleet management

The City of Seattle faced a mandate to reduce fleet carbon emissions and eliminate fossil fuels while accurately accounting for Electric Vehicle electricity use in total cost of ownership. To meet this challenge the city deployed telematics technology (Geotab) through Element Fleet Management to capture EV kilowatt‑hour data and other vehicle telemetry needed for sustainability reporting and operational decisions.

Element Fleet Management’s telematics deployment gave the fleet team data to assess vehicle utilization, decide when EVs were the right fit, and curb idling, speeding and aggressive driving. The vendor’s solution improved decision‑making and delivered measurable savings—Philip Saunders reported $2 million saved in fuel versus $100,000 spent on electricity—and helped the City of Seattle save millions more by correcting inefficient driving behaviors.

City of Seattle