Who we are
About Us
Built for the people who keep public fleets running.
Welcome. I'm Eric Bearly, founder of Modern Public Fleet, a free online community, website, and newsletter built for one group of people: government fleet professionals.
I've spent decades leading public fleet media and events for other companies. This is different. It's personal, built on a passion for the people in our fleet family. I've brought together a team of storytellers who truly know and love this community, and we're here to stand alongside you.
We cover public fleet. Only public fleet. The intel, the data, the deeper profiles, the honest looks at what works and what doesn't, and the knowledge that passes from one fleet to the next.
The goal is simple. Fleet pros sharing with fleet pros. No agendas. No politics. No filler. Just honest stories, best practices, and the recognition this industry has earned.
We'd be honored to have you with us.
— Eric
Fleet managers. Technicians. Procurement teams. Operators. Innovators. Public works leaders. The people figuring it out every day and helping others do the same.
Because that’s how this industry has always worked. One fleet learning from another. One solution passed along. One hard-earned lesson shared before someone else has to learn it the painful way.
What we do
Modern Public Fleet is a website, a newsletter, and a growing community. Everything we publish is built around one question: does this help someone in a public fleet do their job better tomorrow?
The Sightline
An email newsletter for public fleet pros. Intelligence, news, and best practices delivered straight to your inbox. Read it in a few minutes, catch what matters, get back to work.
Fleet profiles
The deeper stories on the fleets doing the work, and the people running them. How they are set up, what they have tried, what worked, and what did not. Whether your yard has forty vehicles or four thousand, you will find someone here who has been through a version of what you are facing.
People, teams, and leadership
Fleets do not run on trucks. They run on people. So we spend real time on the human side of the job. How to hire and keep good techs. How to build a shop culture folks actually want to work in. What it looks like to lead well when you are brand new to it, and how the veterans keep growing after twenty years in.
For up-and-coming leaders
New to public fleet, or new to leading in it? Welcome. This is where you find your footing, sharpen your instincts, and connect with the pros who have already solved what you are figuring out. Come in, take what helps, and start passing it forward.
Best practices and playbooks
Approaches that come from actual fleets, laid out in enough detail that you can take them home and try them. Benchmarking. Budget defense. Leadership under pressure. Technician retention. Right-sizing. Replacement strategy. EV rollout. The how, not just the what.
News and analysis
What is happening across public fleet, and what it means for the way you run yours. Product launches. Policy shifts. Funding. Regulatory changes. The industry moves worth paying attention to.
The real story
Every technology has a lobbyist. Every policy has a talking point. There is a lot of noise around EVs, alternative fuels, autonomous, and the other big topics of the moment, and we are not here to add to it.
When we cover what works and what does not, we go straight to the fleets that actually ran it. Not the vendor deck. Not the press release. The people who wrote the check, put the vehicles on the road, and lived with the results. We ask what happened. What cost more than promised. What saved the day. What they would do different next time.
That is the story we are telling. Popular or unpopular. In fashion or out.
Events and training
Where to be and what to learn there. Conference coverage. Webinars. A heads-up on training programs public fleet pros are actually getting value from.
Topics we cover
We stay focused on the decisions public fleets face every day. Leadership and management. Team building and shop culture. Technician recruitment and retention. Career growth. Maintenance strategy. Shop operations. Fleet availability and uptime. Procurement and lifecycle cost. Electrification and alternative fuels. Telematics and data. Snow and ice operations. Sustainability. Vendor evaluation.
If it helps you make a better call for your fleet, your team, or your career, we are covering it.
If you’re part of the public fleet world, you’re part of the family.
Corrections
We get things wrong sometimes. When we do, we fix the story, note what changed, and date the change at the bottom of the piece.
If you spot an error, tell us. We would rather hear it from you than leave it standing.