Category: Fuel Cards

All the latest news around fuel cards – the best way for businesses to save money on their transport costs.

Side of a car driving in snow towards a forest

BP Diesel – formulated for the winter months ahead

Posted on | by Simon Pavey

Did you know that to help keep vehicles moving throughout the cold season, diesel fuels are specially formulated for the winter from the middle of November right through to the middle of March?

Naturally, you want your vehicle to be reliable at all times and never more so than during cold winter weather. But that’s when it can let you down.

Picture the scene – you jump into your vehicle first thing and find it won’t start. Or you travel just a short distance before it begins to splutter and maybe even comes to a standstill.

This is due to a phenomenon known as diesel waxing and that’s why fuel suppliers are required to change their diesel fuels from summer to winter quality between November and March each year – to help keep vehicles on the road as the temperature drops.

Diesel waxing

To understand the problem, consider the composition of diesel fuel. It’s not a single substance but a complex mixture of hundreds of components that ‘freeze’ over a range of temperatures.

That mixture includes components called paraffins and as the temperature falls some of these species come out of solution as wax crystals. As the temperature drops further a network of crystals can form and grow unchecked, eventually preventing the fuel from flowing.

The problems you can encounter in harsh winter conditions are due to these wax crystals clogging the lines and filters in your vehicle’s fuel system. That’s why refineries add a special flow-improving ingredient to diesel fuel in the coldest months to boost its low temperature performance.

With treatment, the size and shape of the crystals are modified so they are less likely to block the fuel system, and so helping your vehicle to start and run reliably in cold winter weather.

Winter driving tips

Besides ensuring you have winter quality fuel in your tank, winter driving is also about being prepared in other ways – and staying safe.

For your vehicle

  • Help protect your vehicle against diesel waxing by taking some simple precautions such as garaging it or parking in a sheltered spot overnight.
  • Regular vehicle servicing and maintenance are particularly important during winter months, making sure that fuel filters are changed at the manufacturer’s recommended intervals.
  • Regularly check lights, wipers and tyre condition and pressures. Depending upon your location, consider fitting winter tyres.

For your drivers

Do your driver carry an emergency kit at all times?

The average call out time for breakdowns in the UK at this time of year is 90 minutes! Often the time taken for recovery is greater – particularly in severe weather.

Ask yourself – would you be happy for your drivers to be waiting for 90 minutes at the side of the road with the current contents of their vehicle at the moment?

Below is a list of things that may help you should drivers be in this situation.

  • Warm clothing – hats, gloves, blanket
  • First Aid kit
  • Water
  • Torch
  • Something to eat! Biscuits bars, chocolate
  • Snow shovel or something similar
  • High viz clothing
  • Mobile phone charger
  • Warning triangle
  • Sunglasses

If you want to start saving your diesel & petrol bills, then look no further than our own BP fuelcard, for more information, click here: https://www.fuelcardservices.com/brand-bp/

Person with a pressure washer spraying the side of a HGV

Get ahead of the grit: the benefits of truck washing

Posted on | by Simon Pavey

Everyone knows a dirty truck doesn’t look great but dirt can do more than just damage a driver’s pride.

Safety first – the most important part of a fleet managers role is making sure drivers are kept safe and out of harm. Winter driving throws up a range of safety considerations and simple changes can make a big difference. With low sun during winter, dirty windscreens can increase glare and drastically impair drivers’ vision. Keeping on top of truck cleaning helps keep windows clear and contributes to avoiding incidents on the road.

Beautiful branding – your fleet acts as travelling advertisements for your company and sparkling clean vehicles can support a strong brand. After all what does a dirty fleet say about a company?

Damaging dirt – salt used for gritting can build up, particularly on fleet vehicles doing significant mileage on major roads. Left unchallenged this can lead to possible corrosion, meaning keeping your trucks clean goes beyond the simple aesthetics of a bright clean fleet.

As part of the BP Drive Britain offer you can get access to the wide network of SNAP truck wash sites across the UK, with the added benefit of seamless payment through your existing BP fuel cards. Drivers can easily locate their nearest site, with the ability to filter for sites offering truck wash and secure truck parking facilities.

You can find out more here, or speak to your account manager to discuss how BP Drive Britain can help your business.

If you want to start saving your diesel & petrol bills, then look no further than our own BP fuel card, for more information, click here: https://www.fuelcardservices.com/brand-bp/

Fuel inlet with adblue plug

AdBlue from pump to BP Fuel Card

Posted on | by Simon Pavey

BP is rolling out AdBlue pumps for commercial vehicles across the UK this summer. The dedicated dispensers will be available in HGV lanes at more than 40 sites by the end of June.

Fitted with a nozzle specifically designed for use with AdBlue tanks on HGVs, the new pumps mean drivers of commercial vehicles can fill up with AdBlue when they refuel without moving their truck. And for even more convenience it can also be purchased using BP Fuel Cards.

The sites with the AdBlue dispensers have been chosen based on how are popular and convenient they are for fuel card and business drivers, with many on key routes and motorways. This means your drivers won’t need to travel out of their way – saving time and money.

Andy Allen, UK Fuel Card Manager, BP Fuel Cards, said: “Commercial vehicles use around five litres of AdBlue per 100 litres of diesel. But large HGVs able to load up with 1,400 litres of fuel, so it’s simply not practical or convenient for the driver to use 5 litre or 2.5 litres bottles of AdBlue.

“By installing these pumps directly into the refuelling lanes used by commercial vehicles, we believe this will make our customers’ lives easier.”

If you want to start saving your diesel & petrol bills, then look no further than our own BP fuelcard, for more information, click here: https://www.fuelcardservices.com/brand-bp/

photo of the countryside with some turbines and trees drawn on in green

Neutralise your fleet’s emissions with BP Target Neutral

Posted on | by Simon Pavey

For fleets conscious of their carbon footprint, BP offers an environmentally friendly package for BP Fuel Card users. This offer monitors carbon emissions, and then seamlessly integrates data with a carbon management programme available through the BP Target Neutral scheme.

BP Target Neutral for fuel cards make it easy for all types of fleets to neutralise the residual carbon emissions left behind by their vehicles. Drivers simply present their fuel card at filling stations then we automatically make calculations, reports, invoices and take the necessary actions to assess and neutralise the carbon emissions. We take care of everything to make carbon neutral driving an achievable target, so you can improve both the environment and your company’s reputation.

  • Track. Software collects and analyses fuel card data showing individual vehicle carbon emissions.
  • Reduce. Online training facilities improve fleet driver skills, so they become more fuel efficient.
  • Neutralise. Automatically offset all remaining fleet carbon emissions to achieve ‘Carbon Neutral’ status.

If going carbon neutral is an issue of increasing importance to you, then BP Target Neutral package for fuel cards is the simplest and easiest way forward for your fleet. It is available to both large companies with a sizable fleet and smaller businesses with only a few vehicles.

If you want to start saving your diesel & petrol bills, then look no further than our own BP fuelcard, for more information, click here: https://www.fuelcardservices.com/brand-bp/

photo of a computer screen with analytics on. Green fuel pumps are drawn on top of the image

Even more ways to save time with BP

Posted on | by Simon Pavey

The first thing you should know about OLS is that it lets you assume total control of all your cards with just one control panel. From this dashboard, you can set individual card purchase options according to a selection of parameters, set various text or email alerts that let you know when a card is misused, and use analytic tools to help you optimise your spending. Put simply, there are a number of ways you can benefit from using OLS.

  • Easy Card Management, including ordering, blocking and cancelling cards
  • BP Alerts that help you keep your fleet secure
  • Reliable information on your fleets’ fuel consumption and card usage
  • Access to useful downloads, site locator and route planner
  • Management of various On Road Services

With OLS it’s you who chooses the most suitable time to manage your fleet. Schedule your work to your liking, and expect to save more than just time, with easy control over refuelling and other cashless purchases. Enjoy an increase in fleet security with easy 24/7 blocking of misused cards and a transparent overview of spending with certified online invoices for the last 3 months. Want more? Reduce your costs further with BP Fleet Reporter. Use this analysis tool for a better understanding of your fuel volume, consumption, mileage and to make informed decisions to cut excess costs.

If you want to start saving your diesel & petrol bills, then look no further than our own BP fuelcard, for more information, click here: https://www.fuelcardservices.com/brand-bp/