Ohio has selected connected-vehicle platform Geotab as its telematics provider as the state seeks to improve its fleet-management capabilities.

The contract enables state and local government agencies to equip fleet vehicles with Geotab’s connected IoT technology, which can track a wide variety of vehicle data, including location, maintenance, driver performance and fuel usage. The data provided allows the state to improve vehicle utilization, maintenance, winter operations, safety and fuel efficiency, among other things, the company said.

“Being selected as the state of Ohio’s sole telematics provider adds to Geotab’s growing and robust contract portfolio, further solidifying our position as the telematics provider of choice for government agencies across North America,” said Neil Garrett, associate vice president of business development, government at Geotab. “We are confident that the breadth of the Geotab solution will help the state of Ohio meet their current and future goals for fleet optimization.”

The backbone of the Geotab platform is the GO9, a GPS tracking device that plugs into a vehicle’s on-board diagnostics (OBD-II) connector. The device provides near-real-time vehicle information and includes a gyroscope-enhanced accelerometer, which can provide accident detection and examination, and an onboard WiFi hotspot.

Ohio agencies will have access to Geotab’s fleet-management solutions like Keyless, a digital key program that allows multiple drivers to share vehicles without keys, and Electric Vehicle Suitability Assessment, which analyzes vehicle data to determine which parts of a fleet are suitable for EV replacement.

The contract with Ohio is similar to agreements Geotab has with Sourcewell, a membership-based municipal contracting agency offering cooperative-contract pricing, and NASPO ValuePoint, a nonprofit, cooperative-purchasing program, in that it reduces the burden of long request-for-proposal cycles, the company said. 

“The state of Ohio contract, among others, underscores our long-standing commitment to finding ways for government agencies to source leading telematics solutions and ultimately improve public services for local constituents,” said Jean Pilon-Bignell, Geotab’s vice president, public sector. “Over the years, telematics has proven itself as an invaluable technology for fleet management and by streamlining the telematics-purchasing process, Geotab is empowering government customers to take advantage of best-in-class analytics.”