Motor Pool

Motor Pool works to ensure drivers of university vehicles are properly licensed and trained to safely operate their state-owned vehicles.  We also assist departments in purchasing and maintaining their vehicles to university standards. For questions about Motor Pool, please see the Motor Pool FAQ or submit a question via email to Fleet Services.

Mandatory Driver Training

Drivers of any State-owned vehicle must have completed the State of Utah Defensive Driving Training course before operating any state-owned vehicles.

Employees can go to the USU’s Institutional Learning System and search for the course “Defensive Driving” course to complete the training.

If you have questions about the training, please contact risk@usu.edu or call 435-797-1951.

Requirements for Department Vehicles

Please review the requirements for department vehicles before moving forward with the process of vehicle acquisition. In addition to these requirements, additional policies must be followed. For details, see the University's Vehicle Use Policy.

Department Contact

Each department with assigned vehicles must provide Fleet Operations with a contact person for all department vehicles.  The contact person is responsible for communicating all service reminders and fuel card reports to each vehicle’s Primary Operator and department administrator.  The contact person is not responsible to complete the work, but rather to follow-up on all communication to ensure all required maintenance and reporting is completed. 

Keeping Vehicles in Working Order

Driver safety is a top priority at USU.  To ensure that safety, all vehicles must be in good, safe working order. Any concerns with a university vehicle must be addressed immediately.  If a problem arises, the department should immediately get the vehicle repaired. If, for whatever reason, immediate repair isn't an option, the vehicle must be taken out of service until accommodations can be made.

Vehicle Preventative Maintainance and Inspection

Monthly reminders for preventative maintenance (PM) will be emailed to department contacts. Schedules for PMs vary, but must be performed at least once a year. To change any PM schedule, a memo must be sent to Motor Pool signed by the department head or director.

Safety Inspections

Inspection certificates are due for exempt (EX license plate) vehicles by May 1st of each year. Vehicles are due for a safety inspection every other year for the first 7 years and then every year after that. Reminders will be sent out throughout the year to the department contacts. Due to our large fleet, we are given July thru April to collect all of the due inspections. Exemption years will be based on the Fiscal year schedule, not the calendar year. Used vehicles will be due for their first inspection 6 months after they are entered into the system and then yearly after that. This assures that we receive the inspection that we need by May 1st and that we spread out the vehicle’s due dates throughout the year.

Receipts for all Vehicle Repairs and Services

State regulations require all state vehicle service and repair records are recorded and stored by Motor Pool. Any services or repairs preformed at USU Motor Pool will automatically be added to the system. We do not require that vehicles be repaired at USU Motor Pool; however a copy of the receipts must be turned in for anything done elsewhere. They can be emailed to tammi.godfrey@usu.edu, mailed to UMC 9000, or faxed to (435) 797-3146.

Receipts for Gas purchased without a USU Issued Gas Card

The USU Issued Gas Cards automatically charge the gas to the departments, input the required information into the system and help to keep track of the MPG for each vehicle on campus. We prefer for departments to always use the assigned gas cards, but understand that it is not always possible to do this. If a personal gas/credit card is used to fuel the vehicle, then a receipt needs to go to the department that is in control of the vehicle for reimbursement and a copy of the receipt needs to be sent to Motor Pool for a manual update to the system. Please write down the license plate number and the odometer reading at the time of fueling so we know which vehicle is belongs to and so we can continue to keep track of the MPG.

MIS Fees

The Database that Motor Pool uses to keep track of all of the vehicles and drivers is managed and licensed by the State. For use of their system, they charge us a Yearly MIS Fee. This fee helps pay for updates, troubleshooting, service help desk and an alternative fuel vehicle program. This fee is billed per vehicle and will show up on your March e-prints.

Insurance Charges

Insurance is also billed per vehicle and is handled through USU Risk Management. In the past they have always contacted each department with the list of vehicles assigned to them for confirmation, and then the yearly charges are billed out.

Procedures for Vehicle Acquisition

Due to State Legislation, USU and all other State Agencies cannot increase the size of their fleets without approved legislation from the State. Here at USU we have split up our number among the departments that have vehicles and consider each vehicle as being in a slot. Currently these slots are assigned to the department unless the slot remains open (meaning the department has been assigned 6 vehicle slots, but only has 5 vehicles) for 5 years. Departments can give an open slot to another department at any time as long as a memo is received by Fleet from the department that is giving the slot. A slot is needed for all vehicles whether purchased new, used, leased, bought from USU Surplus, borrowed from Federal Surplus, or donated to USU.

Prior to making any vehicle acquisition/purchase, the following steps are required: