PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh’s fleet manager says nearly 300 vehicles need to be replaced within the next two years.
That’s nearly a quarter of the city’s whole fleet!
For months, 11 Investigates has been shining a spotlight on the troubles with the city’s aging fleet.
The fleet manager, Firmin Maurice, today released the first fleet efficiency report, after the council demanded more information months ago. That report paints a pretty bleak picture of the aging fleet.
Sobering comments were given by City Councilman Anthony Coghill on the aging fleet.
“We hope and pray that our vehicles…it doesn’t cost us a life. It’s only a matter of time…it’s only a matter of time,” said City Councilman Anthony Coghill.
For more than a year now, 11 Investigates has documented serious issues with aging city vehicles, including an ambulance that snapped an axle while leaving the hospital and another where a utility door flew wide open and hit a parked car.
“That’s kind of terrifying to hear,” said City Councilman Bob Charland. ))
The fleet manager is also releasing, for the first time, a report on the status of the fleet.
Five vehicles, he says, are critical and need replacing immediately…and another 287 will need to be replaced within two years.
He says that because of the aging fleet, the city is spending more money on repairs. One vehicle bought for 35,000 dollars has had 28-thousand dollars worth of repairs.
“In the past, it seems we’ve just slowly been pulling that bandaid and yes, you will get it off, but it’s going to be more painful in the long run if you had just ripped it off,” said Fleet Manager Firmin Maurice.
“We’re just wasting taxpayer dollars because we are spending so much on maintenance. We’re spending more on maintenance than half the cost we pay for the vehicle,” said Wilson.
The city has set aside only $20 million for vehicles for the next six years. Officials say they should be spending that much every year.
While Coghill admits this is a problem years in the making, he blames the current administration for not using more American Rescue Funds for vehicles.
“The allocation from this administration over the next four years is just laughable. laughable and not sustainable and won’t work,” said Coghill.
So the big question that came out of the meeting this afternoon was how to come up with the funding for new vehicles when the budget is so tight?
The council today suggested re-evaluating budget priorities and even the possibility of a short-term bond.
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