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From Patrol Cars to Plow Trucks: How the City of Two Rivers maximizes visibility and accountability with purpose-built fleet tracking
Two Rivers, Wisconsin, is famous for its beautiful Lake Michigan beach, as the birthplace of the ice cream sundae, and for the emphasis its local authorities put on community transparency and trust.
“Our agency is known for working in partnership with our community, and our successful delivery of police services can only be realized through relationships with our citizens that are founded on mutual trust and respect,” remarks Chief of Police Benjamin Meinnert. “We are extremely fortunate to have that trust and respect.”
This trust wasn't developed overnight but was earned through years of openness and accountability. To further build on this foundation, the Two Rivers Police Department chose fleet tracking software One Step GPS for real-time insight into its officers' whereabouts and operations.
The police department's success quickly compelled city-wide agencies to adopt the industry-disrupting GPS tracking solution. I sat down with Chief Meinnert to learn how the City of Two Rivers uses One Step GPS to bring transparency to every vehicle in the city fleet, from fire trucks to lawn mowers.
Fleet type
Mixed municipal vehicles: Police cars, fire trucks, garbage trucks, utility trucks, road maintenance vehicles, lawn mowers, snowplowsFleet size
20-50One Step GPS devices used
One Step GPS platform tools used
Fleet tracking: A local government's solution to declining public trust
Citizens may place more faith in local authorities than state or federal governments, but this trust has steadily declined in recent decades (University of New Hampshire, 2025). In fact, research shows that a third of Americans don't believe their local governments act in their best interest (ICMA, 2024).
Shifting public confidence means local officials must work harder than ever to build and preserve that trust. For the City of Two Rivers, fleet tracking with One Step GPS delivers the real-time visibility and accountability needed—from police to public works and beyond.
One Step GPS could fit all the needs a lot better than all those other places did—not only from the quicker response and feedback time but also when we look at pricing.”
1. Real-time tracking with rapid-response timestamps
Poor experiences with other fleet tracking providers had left the Two Rivers Police Department frustrated. Slow, sporadic location updates kept department leadership in the dark during the most crucial moments.“When we looked at other places, you could usually get the breadcrumb trail of vehicle interaction and stuff, and it would be like a minute apart,” explained Chief Meinnert. “We need a response that is every couple of seconds so that we know what is changing—sometimes a pursuit only lasts a couple of seconds.”
To adequately protect and serve, the Two Rivers Police Department needed more from its telematics software. With play-by-play live tracking, One Step GPS quickly became the obvious solution—for the Two Rivers Police Department and later the city fleet.
- Live updates: Location data refreshes every 1-30 seconds
- Highly accurate: Precise location information to within ~6 feet
- Reliable uptime rates: Industry's highest system uptime rate—more than 99.9%
- Roaming SIM cards: Devices automatically connect with the strongest network for uninterrupted service and unmatched speed even in rural areas
“The software was the biggest thing as far as the technology. We got the most data points and the fastest feedback for what we needed,” recalled Chief Meinnert. “So it was a no-brainer for me.”
The police department's data soon made it just as clear to the entire City of Two Rivers government. From tracking fire crews in emergencies to providing real-time road condition updates during snowstorms, departments throughout the city made the switch and began unlocking the benefits of total fleet visibility.
2. Precise historical data and safety insights
“We needed to have some real-time information to make sure that our users were doing what was necessary—what was safe—and go back and review all those different points,” noted Chief Meinnert.
One Step GPS' detailed historical data was the answer. With it, the City of Two Rivers maximizes staff accountability—promoting a safer community, reducing operational costs, and increasing public trust. From the police department to public works, city leadership can effortlessly view and verify down-to-the-second details on:- Stops along a route
- Driving start and end times
- Vehicle location at any given time
“With the data that we were receiving from One Step GPS, we would get maybe a data point per block, versus every 3 blocks that we were seeing with other companies. As you can imagine, in a city, that's quite a distance: 1 to 3 blocks. That was very important not only for [the Department of Public Works] but for our electric crew ... across the board.”
The One Step GPS driver behavior suite provides all the city needs to ensure safety on the road and to maximize training opportunities. Live safety alerts can be received by management and in-cabin to allow for instant driver coaching, stopping dangerous driving in its tracks. Our driver scorecards offer a detailed look at each employee's behavior over any defined period.
Safety alerts and historical data are provided for:- Speeding
- Hard braking
- Aggressive driving
- Sharp cornering
- Cell phone use
- Drowsy driving
- Rapid acceleration
- And much more
3. Easy-to-install hardware for any application
“Unfortunately, back then, it was a lot of extra hardware on our squads,” Chief Meinnert recalled about the police department's former fleet tracking service. “Things changed, and ultimately we needed something new.”
“One Step GPS had several different [hardware] versions, not only for the quick plug-and-play system in your basic vehicle [but also for] different hardware-type accessories, even solar- and battery-powered. That was beneficial even for our parks-and-rec crew, where they might want to track some of their mowing devices.”Ultimately, One Step GPS' variety of easy-to-install devices provided the simplicity and diversity the City of Two Rivers needed. We offer devices for every application that install in seconds or minutes:
4. Enterprise-grade features at an unbeatable price—with award-winning customer service
One Step GPS' contract-free pricing model offered the City of Two Rivers invaluable scalability. Unlike many fleet tracking providers that require custom quotes, One Step GPS' transparent prices are easy to understand and provide the flexibility to pause subscriptions on seasonal vehicles like snowplows without incurring penalties:
- ✅ Real-time GPS tracking: $13.95 per month per device
- ✅ AI-powered dashcams + real-time GPS tracking: $29.95 per month per device
- ✅ FMCSA-certified ELDs + real-time GPS tracking: $20.95 per month per device
- ✅ Activation fee of no more than $20 per device and charges for first and last month's service (latter refunded when devices are returned)
- ✅ No contracts
- ✅ No hidden fees
The easy sell was the amount that we were able to save when we added our whole city onto what we were already utilizing ... When we added on our entire fleet, we got quite a bit of savings.”
Cost was a factor as the City of Two Rivers chose a fleet tracking provider—but One Step GPS' 4.9-star-rated customer service was the true selling point.
The One Step GPS team of experts provided thorough training and constant support as city leadership tested out the software. “Our staff and everybody really enjoyed that and was happy in the end, and it's not often that you get everybody on board saying that this is definitely the way to go,” Chief Meinnert said. “But in this case, it was unanimous.”
Fully in-house and based in the USA, our award-winning customer service team guarantees expert assistance every time. No frustrating automated systems, no transfer loop—just fast, human support.
You always know you're going to get an answer when something goes wrong or you have a question and you need something. That's the biggest selling point that I can say for One Step GPS. It's been phenomenal.”
Ready to improve visibility and accountability? Call or chat with a One Step GPS specialist now to learn how our fleet tracking can help you build community trust.
