City responds to questions about fleet management on service delivery
There is no limit on how many vehicles should be at a workshop.
In response to concerns raised about the lack of vehicles at Edenvale’s municipal depots, the city has provided insight into the workings of its fleet and workshops.
In early September, the NEWS and Ward 19 Clr Bill Rundle visited Edenvale’s fleet maintenance vehicle depot in Eastleigh.
At the facility, a pilot project for the municipality’s workshops, several vehicles were seen on the workshop’s property.
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Rundle said some had been at the location for two years.
CoE spokesperson Zweli Dlamini explained that the pilot project is a fleet management information system that aims to automate daily fleet transactions.
“It is very beneficial to the city at large because information required about Fleet is available with a click of a mouse,” said Dlamini.
Explaining why there were almost 30 vehicles at the workshop, he said some suffered collision damage, others were scrapped. There are return jobs awaiting repairs by the supplier, and some await quotations.
Dlamini explained that, in some instances, there are delays in vehicle repairs.
These delays come because some vehicles are older models, and sometimes, parts need importing.
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Despite several vehicles at the depot, Dlamini said many were booked in at different times.
“There is no specific limit on how many vehicles should be at a workshop.
“No one knows when a vehicle will break down and how long it will take to fix because there are other variables,” said Dlamini.
On the number of operational municipal vehicles, Dlamini said the number varies.
“The city did a report at the end of the financial year, and we were at 88%,” he said.
He also emphasised that Fleet Operations, particularly the Edenvale workshop, doesn’t hire vehicles.
At the facility with Rundle, the News saw many tyres of varying conditions stored there.
Dlamini explained that according to legislation, the city cannot dispose of scrap tyres irresponsibly.
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“They are being stored until the city can get a registered company to dispose of them.”
During the NEWS’ visit to the workshop, Rundle said many service providers’ contracts had been terminated, and whether new ones were appointed was unknown.
In response, Dlamini said there are about 43 service providers for the fleet’s maintenance vehicle depots and that workshops are being improved and upgraded facility by facility.
