Blacktown City Council is a finalist in the Fleet of the Year category in the 2026 Fleet News Group Awards.
In the fourth article in our six-part series, we look at how the City Fleet team has changed its structure to build the capability required for a more data-driven and technology-focused fleet.
Fleet management has traditionally relied heavily on workshop, procurement and operational experience. Those skills remain essential, but Blacktown City Council believes they are no longer enough on their own.
New roles for a changing fleet
The council has introduced specialist positions covering technical projects, innovation, zero-emission vehicles, alternative fuels and business analysis.
Those roles sit alongside the broader fleet team and help the organisation make more informed decisions about the vehicles and technologies entering the fleet.
Business analytics capability is particularly important because Blacktown is collecting increasing amounts of information through telematics and other systems.
Turning telematics into decisions
The business analyst role supports dashboarding and the interpretation of data such as utilisation, downtime, speeding and other operational information.
That information is not collected simply to create reports. It is used to determine whether vehicles are being used effectively, whether they should be rotated between departments and whether a replacement should be electric, hybrid or diesel.
Technical capability before procurement
The council’s technical and innovation capability also supports the early stages of vehicle replacement. Before a new vehicle is selected, the team can review the duty cycle, utilisation and operational requirements.
It can then consider the most suitable technology, vehicle design and any changes the user may need to make when the replacement enters service.
This means procurement is connected to operational evidence rather than simply replacing like with like.
Communication is part of fleet management
Blacktown also identified communications as an important part of the fleet function. Introducing new technology, changing vehicle allocation or asking drivers to adopt different behaviours all require clear communication.
That is particularly relevant when electrification is happening quickly and employees need to understand how new vehicles will affect their work.
Building capability for the future
The new roles reflect Blacktown’s intention to create what it described as a future-ready fleet team.
The council wants capability in safety, compliance, analytics and innovation to sit inside the fleet function rather than depend entirely on external providers. That creates a stronger internal base for future changes in technology and regulation.
Why this matters for Fleet of the Year
Blacktown City Council is investing in the people and skills required to manage the next generation of fleet operations.
Its specialist roles show that fleet maturity is not only about vehicles and systems. It is also about having the capability to interpret data, manage technology and bring users through change.
Blacktown City Council is a finalist in the 2026 Fleet News Group Fleet of the Year Award. If you believe a future-ready fleet needs a future-ready team, you can vote for Blacktown.
Vote for Blacktown City Council in the Fleet of the Year Award
The winners will be announced in Sydney on 14 October 2026.
Register your interest to attend the Fleet News Group Awards Night
Next week: We look at how Blacktown is replacing simple age-based replacement rules with utilisation, downtime and whole-of-life information.
