One of your main responsibilities as a fleet manager is to keep running costs as low as possible without compromising on service or security. Given the current economic climate, the pressure to find newer and better ways to be resourceful can be daunting, but with a little frugal thinking you’ll find opportunities to save in places you might not have considered.
Better maintenance
Poor vehicle maintenance often leads to costly repairs and frustrating, unplanned vehicle downtime. Not only do these disruptions impair your fleet’s operations, they can also damage your fleet’s service reputation, which can have a lasting impact on your bottom line.
There are a number of factors to consider when deciding which vehicles to include on your choice list for drivers (assuming your drivers don’t all drive the same vehicle model).
Sometimes a vehicle with a relatively low purchase or leasing rate ends up costing more in the long run once you consider factors like fuel costs, taxation, performance, durability and maintenance. As soon as you give careful consideration to the projected costs of vehicle ownership, instead of just initial costs, you can begin to narrow down the most practical options to include in your choice list.
Fuel efficiency
Individual driving style greatly affects the fuel consumption of a given vehicle. Drivers who adopt a smoother approach to the road are significantly less wasteful of fuel than aggressive drivers and can in turn help keep emissions low.
By incentivising your drivers to drive economically, you can make big savings on your fuel bill and can save money from having to conduct fewer wear and tear repairs. Using your BP Fuel Card mileage capture reports in My Fleet Hub, you can calculate the fleet average MPG for a given vehicle model and consider rewarding those drivers with the lowest MPG. This will encourage all drivers to drive smarter, and instilling this kind of behavioural change is likely to really help your bottom line.
Fuel cards are being used by thousands of companies to pump around two million litres of petrol and diesel into company cars throughout the UK every single day.
However, data from Fuel Card Services has uncovered some unexpected users of fuel cards, proving that they’re not just for your run-of-the-mill fleet car, van or HGV; they are actually being used to fuel virtually anything with wheels and an engine.
In addition to the thousands of saloons and hatchbacks filled up using fuel cards, Fuel Card Services has noticed that they’re also called into action to fill the tanks of 543 concrete mixers, 36 cranes, 34 gritters, 59 line painters, 127 livestock carriers, seven fire engines, 12 mopeds, a snow plough, a tar sprayer, a bulldozer and two tricycles.
More than 56,000 panel vans are topped up using fuel cards, making them the most common vehicle type, followed by 30,000-plus estate cars.
This amount of diversity and variety probably shouldn’t be so surprising, considering the fact that around 55,000 customer organisations of all sizes and types from every area of industry, commerce and the public sector take advantage of fuel cards to keep their company vehicle on the road.
As one of the largest independent agents of fuel cards in the UK, Fuel Card Services works to help keep your running costs down.
Whether your fleet uses diesel, petrol or both, Fuel Card Services covers every major brand including specialist networks: Allstar, BP, Diesel Direct, Esso, Shell, Texaco and UK Fuels.
We never impose transaction charges on our fixed price fuel cards and you are welcome to a free, no-obligation weekly price check to see how much you could save – click here to check our prices.
Unsurprisingly, the top annoyance for the UK motorist is a traffic jam. This finding was part of IAM RoadSmart’s Safety Culture Survey, which was published on Thursday last week.
It is the fourth year, that the UK’s biggest road safety charity, asked more than 2,000 drivers about their worries, fears and attitudes. In the past, two years safety concerns around other drivers using hand-held mobile phones topped the list – but now traffic congestion is the top concern.
Congestion costs money
Congestion becomes a very real worry when looking at the road usage landscape from a business perspective. Hire car organisation, Europcar launched a new white paper, exploring the mobility challenges facing UK business. In Charting a Safe Path Through the Minefield of Challenges Facing UK Businesses, the paper reveals a mood of caution and mild pessimism amongst UK businesses.
Europcar conducted the research in response to the increasing challenges facing businesses and decision makers when it comes to keeping workers on the road and productive. More than half of the 500 businesses surveyed by Europcar said they generate their revenue through monthly contracts, so unsurprisingly, economic growth and cash flow were found to be the top two concerns for this sample of firms.
Congestion affects business
With Christmas coming, and the delivery of online retailing after Black Friday increasing, this will mean our roads are about to get even busier. Congestion becomes a critical business issue according to research from the Mercedes-Benz Vans Business Barometer survey.
Delivery drivers say that, on average, 16% of their working day is lost due to congestion, which means, based on a (very conservative) 8 hour working day this equates to 1 hour 17 minutes a day, or more than 6 hours across a typical working week, adding up to 37 working days a year lost due to congestion for the average delivery driver.
Greater London reaffirms its place at the top of the ‘congestion league’, with respondents saying 18% of their working day is lost to congestion – higher than anywhere else in the UK.
The research, undertaken amongst 2,000 van owners and operators, also highlights that congestion is now the second biggest ‘barrier to growth’, with 31% believing this will be a barrier to growth in the coming year, rising to 38% amongst fleet managers, and second only to rising fuel costs (57%).
Commenting upon their survey, Steve Bridge, Managing Director, Mercedes-Benz Vans UK Ltd, said: “We know from our Business Barometer that a growing customer base ever more focused on online retail is a positive for the industry, but unless the issue of congestion is tackled, these businesses will suffer. Congestion causes delays that cost money as well as time and can damage the reputation of business that rely on their deliveries.”
Dealing with congestion
IAM RoadSmart’s head of driving and riding standards, Richard Gladman, is all about how you can save fuel. Here he provides some top congestion-driving tips.
Try to keep your driving smooth. Gentle acceleration and using the highest safe gear will use less fuel. Ease off the accelerator early for traffic lights if they are red – why hurry up to wait?
If possible, try to avoid driving during heavy traffic. Stopping and starting in traffic needs the use of the first gear and a lot fuel is used to get the vehicle moving again
Keep your tyres well maintained by checking the condition, pressures and tread depth. When it comes to choosing new tyres, it’s worth having a look at ones which are designed for extra economy
Get rid of unnecessary weight. Cars work just like the human body, it needs more energy to move around more weight and so does your car. Take heavy items out of the car if you don’t need to carry them. A roof rack or roof box will increase drag and you will use more fuel to overcome this, so remove it if it is not being used
Nowadays, you don’t need to manually warm up a modern car, so once your windows are clear (a bit of elbow grease will sort them out) you are able to set off to your destination without having to wait around
During this winter season as your engine is trying to warm up it uses more fuel for the first four miles or so.Your engine stays cold when you drive less than two miles and your car will produce 60 per cent more pollution than a warm engine – avoid these short journeys where possible
Turn off the air-conditioning as it uses extra fuel. When the rear window is cleared turn off the rear screen heater – the more electricity your car has to produce, the more fuel it will use
Keep your speed low as you can reduce fuel consumption by up to 25%. Try pressing more lightly on the accelerator, often you can maintain the same speed with less pressure on the pedal
For the moment, whilst the government navigates through its own Brexit congestion, road users and business will have to await any further constructive news about a future without traffic jams on our roads.
At My Fleet Solutions, we understand that managing a commercial fleet is more challenging than ever. We offer the very best for fleets when it comes to vehicle servicing, maintenance and repairs, on all makes and models. My Fleet Solutions can take the sting out of automotive costs, with 60% typically saved on SMR compared to franchise dealers. The costings are transparent, based upon thorough working knowledge and up-to-date automotive data, plus all genuine parts and repairs are protected under warranty.
Visit www.myfleetsolutions.co.uk.
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BP’s reciprocal fuel card acceptance agreement with Esso has now expanded to include Esso Tesco alliance sites. From August, BP Fuelcard customers can fill up at all Esso Tesco Alliance stations displaying the new BP acceptance logo. The expansion means BP PLUS Fuel Cards are now accepted at more than 3,600 sites, including Texaco, Esso and GULF*.
Jo McDonnell, UK Fleet Sales Manager, BP Fuel Cards, said: “At BP, we are committed to expanding our offer to support our fleet customers. This collaboration with the Esso Tesco Alliance sites completes our cross acceptance partnership with Esso and enables us to provide a fantastic network for BP PLUS fleet customers, giving drivers even more choice and availability when travelling throughout the UK.”
With a total network of more than 3,600 sites, BP will be able to offer fleet operators greater cost control, not only through an extensive network but also through competitive pricing, enhanced security and access to fleet administration and management information.
The BP branded network includes 1,220 sites, with 900 sites on UK A roads, 700 24-hour sites and more than 70 sites at motorway service stations. With the largest branded motorway network and sites positioned on key A roads and transport routes, the BP network focusses on positioning sites where fleets need them the most, helping to reduce wasted mileage.
BP also has more than 600 bunker sites which feature high-speed pumps, wide lanes and extra high canopies. Most are on motorways and ‘A’ roads, cutting the need for detours.
The addition of the extra sites via the Esso cross acceptance partnership provides a comprehensive network for fleets across the UK – from the north of Scotland to Wales and throughout England.
*Excludes some Scottish mainland and Islands sites, for full details details of the BP branded network visit our site finder
Many motorists could be wasting both time and money as they attempt to find the cheapest fuel prices, new research has suggested.
According to a study by Moneysupermarket.com, drivers can save money if they drive up to two miles to a petrol station where prices are 1p per litre cheaper.
However, the organisation believes any savings will be cancelled out if a person drives any further in order to take advantage of lower pump prices.
Dan Plant, consumer expert at MoneySupermarket.com, said: “Driving a bit out of your way for cheaper fuel might seem like a simple way of cutting costs.
“[But] the reality is it can be a false economy and could actually cost you more.”
Drivers were encouraged to never travel more than two extra miles for every 1p per litre saving.
Mr Plant said this “quick two-for-one rule” would help motorists work out whether the detour is actually worth their while.
Figures from MoneySupermarket.com show that convenience typically dictates which petrol station people go to, with 83 per cent saying they will fill up at whichever one is easiest to get to.
However, 81 per cent said price can be a factor behind their decisions. MoneySupermarket.com believes those drivers who are travelling further to get to a cheaper petrol station might be wasting a total of £528 million every single month.
