A fleet controller manages a company’s vehicles and the drivers operating them: where each vehicle is, whether it is legal and roadworthy, what it costs to run and whether the load will arrive on time. The role sits between operations, maintenance and the drivers themselves.
This guide sets out fleet controller duties and responsibilities, the daily routine and how the role changes by fleet. It sits in the General worker, warehouse and logistics duties cluster, part of the wider job duties guide.
What Does a Fleet Controller Do?
A fleet controller allocates vehicles and drivers to work, monitors them in transit through tracking systems, manages fuel and maintenance, and keeps the licensing and compliance records that keep the fleet legal.
Two things dominate the job. The first is exceptions: a breakdown, a driver stopped at a weighbridge, a delivery that will miss its window. The controller is the person who has to solve it while the rest of the schedule keeps running. The second is cost, because fuel, tyres and maintenance are where a transport operation makes or loses money, and unexplained fuel variances usually mean something worth investigating.
Compliance is unglamorous but non-negotiable: expired licences, overdue services and driver hours are exactly what an incident investigation examines first.
Fleet controller job descriptions generally group into four blocks: allocation and dispatch, in-transit monitoring and exception handling, maintenance and cost control, and compliance administration. Smaller operations expect one person to hold all four; larger fleets split them across a control room team.
Key Fleet Controller Duties and Responsibilities
- Allocating vehicles and drivers to loads, routes and schedules.
- Monitoring vehicles in transit using tracking and telematics systems.
- Managing breakdowns, delays, diversions and roadside incidents.
- Scheduling services, repairs and tyre replacement to minimise downtime.
- Monitoring fuel consumption and investigating variances.
- Maintaining licence, permit, roadworthy and insurance records.
- Checking driver licences, PrDPs and medical validity.
- Monitoring driver behaviour reports for speeding, harsh braking and idling.
- Managing daily vehicle inspection checklists and defect reports.
- Processing traffic fines and allocating them to drivers.
- Reporting on fleet availability, utilisation, cost per kilometre and downtime.
- Liaising with customers, suppliers, workshops and insurers.
Daily Tasks of a Fleet Controller
- Early: check overnight tracking, confirm vehicle availability and brief drivers.
- Morning: allocate loads, dispatch vehicles and confirm departures.
- Through the day: monitor progress, handle exceptions and update customers.
- Afternoon: book services, capture fuel and process defect reports.
- End of day: reconcile trips, update the fleet report and plan the next day.
Fleet Controller Skills and Competencies
- Problem solving under pressure: re-planning a day around one breakdown.
- Systems skill: tracking platforms, fleet software and strong Excel.
- Cost awareness: reading fuel and maintenance data and spotting what is off.
- Compliance discipline: nothing on the road with an expired document.
- Driver handling: firm, consistent management of people you cannot see.
- Communication: keeping customers informed before they have to ask.
Fleet Controller Duties by Workplace or Industry
Long-Haul Transport
Duties centre on route planning, driver rest and shift changes, border and permit documentation, fuel stops and managing multi-day trips.
Distribution and Last-Mile Delivery
Focus shifts to daily route optimisation, delivery windows, proof of delivery and handling failed deliveries and returns.
Corporate and Service Fleets
Duties involve pool vehicle allocation, employee driver administration, service scheduling and managing lease or rental agreements.
Plant, Mining and Construction Fleets
Duties extend to yellow plant and specialised equipment, hour-based service intervals, site permits and operator certification.
Whatever the fleet, the controller is judged on three things: vehicles available when the work needs them, loads arriving when they were promised, and cost per kilometre moving in the right direction.
Fleet Controller Duties for a CV
Give fleet size, driver numbers and the systems you ran. Use the duties for a CV guide for the method.
- Controlled a fleet of 46 vehicles and 60 drivers across three depots.
- Reduced fuel cost per kilometre by 9% through consumption monitoring and driver coaching.
- Maintained 100% licence, permit and roadworthy compliance across the fleet.
- Scheduled preventative maintenance, cutting unplanned downtime by a third.
Related Job Roles and Responsibilities
These guides cover the roles and next steps most closely related to this one.
- Truck Driver duties and responsibilities
- Driver duties and responsibilities
- Supply Chain Manager duties and responsibilities
- Operations Manager duties and responsibilities
- General worker, warehouse and logistics duties
Frequently Asked Questions About Fleet Controller Duties
What are the duties of a fleet controller?
Allocating vehicles and drivers to loads, monitoring vehicles through tracking systems, managing breakdowns and delays, scheduling maintenance, monitoring fuel consumption, maintaining licensing and compliance records, checking driver documentation, monitoring driver behaviour, processing fines and reporting on fleet availability and cost.
What qualifications does a fleet controller need?
Matric plus a logistics, transport or supply chain qualification is common, though many controllers come up through dispatch or driving. Tracking system experience and strong Excel are usually required.
Is a fleet controller the same as a fleet manager?
No. A controller runs the day-to-day allocation, monitoring and exceptions. A fleet manager is accountable for the fleet overall, including budget, vehicle replacement policy, contracts and supplier relationships.
Do fleet controllers work shifts?
Often, yes. Fleets that run overnight or across borders need controllers on shift or standby, since a breakdown at 02:00 still needs someone to answer the phone.
Duties vary by fleet type and size. Check your job description for the specific scope, particularly whether maintenance and compliance sit with you or with a separate workshop function.
Last reviewed: 2 September 2026