Rethinking Fleet Strategy for College & University Facilities Teams

Life for a facilities manager on a college or university campus is constantly evolving. From daily maintenance and groundskeeping to infrastructure projects and campus safety, facilities teams must adapt to changing operational demands while controlling costs and maintaining service levels.

As campuses grow and budgets tighten, many institutions are reassessing how work gets done—and whether their existing fleets are truly optimized for efficiency, cost, and sustainability.

Evaluating How Your Campus Fleet Is Used

Facilities crews often travel to job sites in shared or assigned vehicles while carrying tools, equipment, and supplies. Over time, fleets can become overbuilt, underutilized, or mismatched to actual use cases.

Key questions facilities leaders should consider include:

• Do most employees share vehicles, or are vehicles underutilized?
• Are tools and materials transported efficiently in one vehicle—or spread across multiple vehicles?
• Are there opportunities to reduce costs without sacrificing productivity?

Answering these questions is the first step toward a smarter fleet strategy.

Full-Size Vehicles vs Utility Vehicles: Understanding Total Cost of Ownership

Full-Size Truck vs Small-Wheel Utility Vehicle TCO

One of the most impactful comparisons facilities teams can make is the total cost of ownership (TCO) between full-size trucks and small-wheel utility vehicles.

When evaluating TCO, consider:

• Purchase price and replacement cycles
• Fuel or energy costs
• Maintenance and service expenses
• Downtime and productivity impact
• Emissions and sustainability goals

In many campus environments, full-size vehicles exceed operational needs, while compact utility vehicles can perform the same tasks at a significantly lower cost.

Using Fleet Data to Identify Cost-Saving Opportunities

It’s time to review your fleet’s performance and consider working with a partner that can help maximize it across every campus use case. With just a few data points—such as vehicle usage, duty cycles, and maintenance costs—facilities teams can evaluate whether replacing full-size vehicles with small-wheel utility vehicles makes financial sense.

This analysis also provides insight into the environmental impact of fleet decisions, especially when electric vehicles are introduced.

Electric Utility Vehicles and Long-Term Value

As campuses redeploy staff and reallocate resources, fleet audits can help determine how to best utilize work utility vehicles. In many cases, the annual total cost of ownership for an electric utility vehicle is thousands of dollars less than that of a full-size pickup truck.

These savings can enable institutions to replace a single full-size vehicle with multiple utility vehicles—improving task coverage, reducing downtime, and increasing overall productivity.

In addition to cost savings, electric utility vehicles dramatically reduce carbon emissions, supporting institutional sustainability and ESG goals.

Why a Fleet Audit Matters

A comprehensive fleet audit helps facilities teams:

• Identify opportunities to reduce operating costs
• Improve fleet utilization and productivity
• Reduce emissions and environmental impact
• Align fleet strategy with long-term campus goals

A structured fleet assessment from Club Car can provide clear, data-driven insights to support smarter decisions across maintenance, grounds, transportation, and campus services.