Beginning in early 2025, Infrastructure, Planning and Facilities Transportation Services partnered with the Office of the Executive Vice President for Administration (EVPA) to comprehensively review the university’s vehicle fleet and develop ways to save department’s money and maximize the utilization of the vehicles and trailers we all operate to conduct MSU business.
As a result, Transportation Services launched an updated vehicle fleet policy – one aimed at improving services for faculty and staff, reducing costs through expanded shared services, and streamlining fleet operations university-wide.
“Our updated fleet program demonstrates how Operational Excellence drives impact through cost savings, stronger processes, and improved service to our campus community,” said Vennie Gore, executive vice president for administration. “By rethinking fleet utilization, we’re improving services for faculty and staff, reducing costs through shared services, and streamlining operations across the university.”
With the implementation of this policy, $323,759 in annual savings has been achieved to date through elimination of (37) long-term vehicle leases, (77) reduced lease vehicle rates, shared operating expenses, and a reduction (10) under-utilized vehicles sold through MSU Surplus Store.
Full compliance was achieved on Jan. 1, 2026, following a thorough evaluation period and pilot program within IPF.
“Achieving compliance for the updated fleet policy is a testament to our Transportation Services team,” said Adam Lawver, assistant vice president of IPF operations, “Instituting the updated fleet program has been a concerted effort requiring excellence from multiple IPF departments across the past year, and through partnering with units enterprise-wide, we’ve created cost-savings and efficiencies wholistically across campus. I am proud of the results our collective teams have achieved.”
The updated approach builds on a fleet analysis that began in 2023, when IPF Transportation Services identified approximately 200 low-mileage vehicles across the university — typically those driven fewer than 2,000 miles per year. From there, Transportation Services worked with units across campus to review needs and recommend options that worked best for them and kept work moving.
Depending on a unit’s operations, that path could include joining the MSU Shared Vehicle Program, turning in an underused department vehicle and renting from Transportation Services as needed, or requesting an exception for specialized work.
“At the beginning of the program in 2025, we intentionally began with an ‘interim’ policy for the first year,” said Brooke Pugh, manager of IPF Transportation Services, “This gave our team plenty of time to pilot the program within IPF, and work out any roadblocks before we expanded to other units—By the time we instituted the ‘full’ policy on Jan. 1, we were fully prepared.”
As units transitioned, IPF expanded shared and rental options, making it easier to get a vehicle when it’s needed.
The program also introduced practical, quality-of-life improvements to the process: Costs for shared vehicles can be split between departments that share the same vehicle, scheduling has been streamlined with outlook calendars, and trailers are also now recognized and tracked as part of the MSU fleet.
For units looking to make the most of these shared options, whether it’s reserving a vehicle for an event or project, coordinating your departmental vehicle pool, or sorting through the best fit for your team’s needs—Transportation Services can help.
Over the coming year, Transportation Services will begin assessing trailer utilization across MSU units. Similar to vehicles, some units require trailers for business reasons and others will be evaluated based on usage and redundancy. Through a planned trailer rental program, including further expansion of shared resources or selling under-utilized assets, Transportation Services will help continue to reduce maintenance expenses, and find cheaper alternative options for transportation needs.
For more information or assistance related to fleet services, contact Transportation Services at 517-353-5280 or ipf.motorpool@msu.edu