TELUS

Building a more efficient, compliant, and sustainable fleet with telematics

TELUS operates more than 2,800 service vehicles across Canada, supporting field operations from coast to coast. As the company worked toward its environmental goals, it needed a practical way to reduce unnecessary fuel use and emissions while maintaining driver safety, vehicle utilization, and regulatory compliance. By using telematics to connect fleet activity with day-to-day decision-making, TELUS improved visibility across its operation and used that information to guide driver coaching, maintenance, vehicle replacement, and electrification initiatives.

The Challenge: Reducing Fleet Emissions Without Disrupting Operations

TELUS’s sustainability goals extended beyond its offices to the vehicles supporting its field operations. Reducing emissions required attention to several areas at once, including excessive idling, route efficiency, underused vehicles, and compliance with Canadian National Safety Code and Hours of Service requirements.

At the same time, the company needed to make practical fleet decisions as it moved toward greater electrification. That meant understanding how vehicles were actually being used, identifying opportunities to reduce fuel consumption, and determining where existing assets could be replaced, reallocated, or operated more efficiently.

The Solution: Turning Fleet Data Into Day-to-Day Decisions

TELUS used telematics to monitor vehicle activity, driver behaviour, idling, fuel use, utilisation, and compliance across its fleet.

Idling data allowed managers to identify recurring patterns and coach drivers on unnecessary engine use. TELUS also adopted electric power take-off systems for stationary work, reducing the need to keep vehicle engines running while equipment was being used.

The company used vehicle utilization information to support fleet right-sizing and replacement decisions. Rather than evaluating vehicles only by age or mileage, managers could consider how individual assets were actually being used when deciding whether to retain, replace, or reallocate them.

Telematics data also supported driver coaching by providing information on behaviours such as speeding, seatbelt use, harsh braking, and idling. This gave managers a more consistent basis for addressing driving habits and reinforcing safer performance.

As TELUS expanded its electric vehicle programme, location and charging information also helped the company track home charging and support employee reimbursement. This created a more practical framework for expanding EV use across the fleet.

The Results: Higher Compliance and Improved Fuel Efficiency

The changes produced measurable improvements across several areas of fleet management.

ELD compliance increased from 63% to 95% across the Canadian fleet, while TELUS achieved full National Safety Code and Hours of Service compliance without purchasing additional compliance hardware.

Telematics-informed decisions around driver coaching, maintenance, and vehicle replacement also contributed to fuel efficiency improvements of up to 20–40%.

The company also established an EV home-charging pilot and used vehicle utilisation data to inform fleet right-sizing and replacement strategies. Together, these initiatives gave TELUS a more structured way to connect sustainability goals with everyday fleet operations.

For TELUS, GPS tracking and telematics became an important part of managing a large national service fleet. By using vehicle and driver data to guide operational decisions, the company improved compliance, increased fuel efficiency, and created a stronger foundation for ongoing fleet sustainability.

Want to see more fleet success stories? Explore our Success Stories to see how GPS tracking and telematics are helping organizations improve safety, efficiency, maintenance, and fleet performance.