Authored by Richard Ward, Executive Director of the American Vehicle Owners Alliance (AVOA) and Mike Filomena, Vice President of Government & Public Affairs at Enterprise Mobility
Public vehicle fleets are essential tools for local government operations. From keeping streets safe and clean to ensuring rapid emergency response, municipal vehicles enable nearly every core local government function. Additionally, today’s vehicles are more sophisticated, and with full access to the data their fleets generate, local governments can use this data to optimize their operations.
However, relying on vehicle manufacturers to grant access to a vehicle’s data means that, in an increasingly connected world, our public fleets are not being fully utilized to their maximum benefit. It’s now critical that cities have access to their vehicles’ data.
Public Fleets Power Essential City Services
When people think of city vehicles, they are likely to think of emergency vehicles like police cars and fire trucks first, but local governments use vehicle fleets for so much more. Public works like snowplows, garbage trucks and school and transit buses all make cities run.
Vehicle data helps cities keep these fleets operational by providing insight into vehicle health, maintenance needs and usage patterns. When that data is accessible and reliable, fleet managers can proactively address issues before they disrupt these services. Without quick and dependable data access, breakdowns and delays can follow.
The Real-World Impact of Limited Data Access
Despite the growing importance of vehicle data, local governments often lack standardized, guaranteed access to it. For communities, the consequences are practical and immediate. Limited access to diagnostic data can delay repairs and increase downtime. Incomplete usage of data makes it harder to plan replacements or manage budgets.
Local governments own these vehicles and are accountable to residents for how they are used, yet restricted data access can limit local decision-making and long-term planning. This undercuts cities’ ability to provide transparency.
For local governments, vehicle data access is not an abstract issue. It affects service reliability, budget efficiency, workforce safety and local control over publicly owned assets.
What Congress is Doing
Congress is acting to help fix this issue. Members of Congress have introduced two bills: the Data Rights for Information and Vehicle Electronics in Real-time (DRIVER) Act and the Auto Data Privacy and Autonomy (ADPA) Act, which would ensure that vehicle data rights belong to vehicle owners, including local governments.
With these bills, Congress has a chance to create a clear process for operationalizing how local governments have access to and control over the data generated by advanced vehicle systems now. Supporting vehicle data access legislation means local governments can fully utilize the value of their vehicles, ultimately benefiting operations and their residents.
Looking Ahead: Ensuring Cities Can Serve Their Communities
Guaranteed access to vehicle data delivers tangible benefits for cities: more efficient operations, preserves local control over public assets, encourages safer vehicles and drivers and offers stronger public accountability. It also supports fair market competition when owners of vehicles control their vehicle’s data.
Addressing current challenges will require continued collaboration among cities, policymakers, manufacturers and technology providers. Fair vehicle data access legislation, such as the DRIVER Act and ADPA Act, is about ensuring public fleets can meet today’s demands and adapt to the future of connected mobility and operations.
At the same time, we must keep decision-making in the hands of the local governments that serve their communities every day.
Visit the NLC Strategic Partnerships page to learn more about the organizations like Enterprise Mobility dedicated to making NLC the premier resource for local governments.
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