City looks at speeding up GPS plan for waste collection

The city is looking at speeding up the installation of GPS systems in all its waste collection vehicles after media scrutiny of how many hours crews were working.

The general issues committee will vote Wednesday on whether to look at installing GPS in the vehicles before the end of 2014. Theyll also vote to have staff report back on garbage routes once a year.

The move comes after the revelation that public garbage collectors are working fewer hours than their private counterparts. The disparity, the city said, stemmed from public workers finishing their routes faster.

Some councillors called for more scrutiny of waste collection in the city, while others, including Mayor Bob Bratina, defended city workers.

City council already decided in its 2013 capital budget to hire a consultant in August 2014 to look at how to optimize routes, a staff report says. That included installing GPS in city waste collection vehicles.

The report shows that waste collectors start their shifts at 6:30 a.m., and they return to the yard at 1 p.m., although the return time varies according to season.

In 2013, overtime costs for waste collection operators were about $283,000. About 67 per cent of the costs are related to scheduled overtime such as collection on a Saturday or statutory holiday, the report says.

The city doesn't have GPS monitoring on its vehicles, the report says, although it previously piloted the technology on part of its fleet.

The general issues committee will meet at 9:30 a.m. on May 7.