Category: Vehicle Tracking

There’s so much in the news we can’t control these days: Brexit negotiations, Boris Johnson’s cabinet, the British weather. But there’s one thing we can control: our business fuel spend, by using fuel cards.

Fuel Card Services is one of the largest independent agents, working with all major fuel brands: AllStar, Diesel Direct, Esso, Shell, Scania, Texaco, UK Fuels and BP. They help you find the right fuel card for your specific needs, as well as help keep your fuel costs under control.

The company’s 58,500 customer organisations, of all sizes and types, are drawn from every area of industries. Collectively, their customers refuel with almost four million litres of diesel and petrol every working day. They enjoy savings of up to 5p per litre at the pumps – and savings of up to 10p per litre on motorways.

FCS never impose transaction charges on their fixed price fuel cards, and customers are welcome to a free, no-obligation weekly price check to see how much they could save.

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Tele-Gence, the intelligent fuel management solution from Fuel Card Services, has been helping managers make significant savings on fuel. In fact, Tele-Gence has been shown to improve vehicle MPG by as much as 20%.

Today, Managing Director, Denise Frost is continuing her drive to deliver even greater service, savings and security with Tele-Gence, by developing a “Pro” version plus the option of integrated dash cams or the more advanced live-streaming camera.  As with standard Tele-Gence, the Pro version leverages years of specialist experience within the automotive industry, based on deep research into what fleet managers and drivers really need – in this case, delivering smart telematics made simple.

Both standard and advanced Tele-Gence are intuitive and alert driven for exception-based management of fleet and fuel, as well as in-depth reporting on fuel fraud, pump pricing, driver behaviour, vehicle tracking and much more – with no long-term commitment. Both offer a scalable range of user-friendly services, customisable and bespoke telematics options, frictionless access from anywhere in the cloud, and support from a UK-based customer service team.

Fleet managers get full access to fuel data, with improved and accurate MPG reporting to reduce and even eliminate fuel fraud. Suitable for all vehicle types, from cars and vans, to LCVs and HGVs. Tele-Gence also helps reduce accidents and increase driver security, while tracking expenses and vehicle maintenance and streamlining your management processes.

The “Pro” improvements

There are many ways the Pro version enhances the feature set of this market-leading telematics solution. For a start, limitless users can now share one system. Traffic maps, analytics reports, and alerts now occur in real-time, with more customisable options. Fuel card analytics are improved, with an analysis of your fleet’s total fuel trends. Speed restrictions and tolerances can be set for each individual vehicle, with different parameters set around different tolerances to give a true reflection of dangerous driving. There’s even a driver behaviour league table, to inspire healthy competition. The list goes on, and it’s well worth reading.

The cameras

Record what happens for essential peace of mind, protecting your company and your drivers and saving on insurance-based costs.  A choice of dash cams are offered with full HD recordings, wide angle and night viewing, hours of storage, and even automated crash detection (with the more advanced model). Events can be sent directly to the Tele-gence platform.  Plus, all this and more with the live-streaming camera – giving you instant alerts, customisable by you, with live data feed providing location, speed, driver behaviour with its built-in tracker.

Find out more about Tele-Gence by visiting www.tele-gence.com

Drones are being used by Highways England engineers to more efficiently monitor the progress of smart motorways upgrades across the country.

Currently in use as part of the multi-million pound upgrade of the M6 between junctions 2 and 4 near Coventry. The drones can relay 3D-quality images of roadworks across a wide area.

Fewer closures and faster journeys

This high-quality imagery can be used by engineers and planners. It will help inform decisions around route closures, and other traffic management measures. This will ensure a minimal impact to motorists, from these essential works.

Highways England smart motorway sponsor Peter Smith commented: “Ordinarily, inspections by road workers require lane closures for safety reasons and can take up to several days.

“By using the drone we are able to reduce lane closures. This is because we can scan a much larger area in a quicker period of time.”

The footage allows detailed progress reporting on the development of gantries, foundations and other structures. All of which helps to minimise disruption and to keep the upgrade process moving swiftly forward.

Jenny Smith, general manager for Tele-Gence, commented: “Transport is the lifeblood of the UK economy and keeping traffic flowing is all-important when it comes to the major motorways of the UK. The latest technologies are helping engineers to improve efficiency and that’s great news for everyone.”

Your business can benefit from affordable telematics with no hidden start-up fees or long-term commitments. Find out how at www.tele-gence.com

Some of the world’s leading motor industry brands have come together with the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) to help to support dozens of new tech start-ups to drive innovation in the UK automotive sector.

The SMMT’s Future Mobility Challenge, aims to promote greater collaboration between established automotive manufacturers, and the next generation of creative designers and producers in the UK.

Supporting innovation in UK mobility

SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes commented: “The UK’s hard-won reputation as a hub for innovation and emerging new technologies means, we can continue to attract some of the best and brightest from across the world, to this event.

“We are on the cusp of a transport revolution, and UK automotive is ready for the journey.”

The challenge will see a total of 43 tech start-ups vying to secure funding and support for innovative new technologies in eight key areas:

1. Generating insights and creating value from mobility data
2. Innovative solutions for intelligent fleets
3. Urban mobility solutions for future cities
4. New ownership, shared and on-demand mobility models
5. Creating new and superior customer experiences in the age of hyper convenience
6. New connected and in-car services
7. Automated driving technologies for on- and off-road vehicles
8. E-mobility solutions

The candidates were shortlisted from a total of 136 entries and will see successful start-ups partnering with Ford Mobility, Bosch UK, Toyota, Honda Innovation and Volvo Car UK.

Planning for the future of transport

The support being offered to successful entries will include mentoring, ideas incubation and investment, piloting, routes to market and (potentially) acquisition. It represents a chance to ensure the UK’s automotive industry remains at the forefront of global planning to meet the transport needs of the future.

Arun Srinivasan, executive vice president and head of mobility solutions at Bosch UK, commented: “New technologies offer opportunities in mobility services that can help increase safety, reduce traffic congestion and create healthier, more liveable city environments.

“Connecting with UK start-ups is an important way for us to continue to drive the entrepreneurial spirit that was instilled by our founder Robert Bosch.”

It’s a sentiment echoed by all of this year’s challenge partners, which also includes the UK’s Department for International Trade, techUK, Scottish Enterprise, Grant Thornton, Canada’s Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, the UK Israel Tech Hub, Italy’s SMAU and many more.

The challenge builds on last year’s successful event, which saw 18 start-ups join forces with Ford Mobility, Bosch, Toyota, Jaguar Land Rover and BMW with the aim of helping to create digital innovations for transport, ranging from new cyber security solutions to the use of AI in future vehicles.

Jenny Smith, general manager for Tele-Gence, commented: “Developing the technologies that will support a cleaner, greener and more autonomous future for UK mobility is paramount. The Future Mobility Challenge will prove crucial in bringing new ideas to life and helping ambitious start-up businesses to fulfil their potential.”

Your business can benefit from affordable telematics with no hidden start-up fees or long-term commitments. Find out how at www.tele-gence.com

East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust will benefit from a fleet of 12 new Fiat Ducato Ambulances.

The trust will employ the new vehicles across Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Waveney in the coming months.

A major boost to the trust

This influx of new ambulances is the first stage in the delivery of more than 200 vehicles to bolster the trust’s reach during the months ahead.

A further 43 will be delivered in the remainder of the year and an extra 171 will come into service by April 2020.

Paul Henry, deputy director of operations support, said: “We are delighted that these fantastic new vehicles are now being rolled out.

“We listened carefully to the views of our staff to ensure the vehicle will meet their needs, keep them comfortable during a shift and allow them to deliver even better care.”

Each new vehicle comes complete with automatic self-loading stretchers as standard, while the models will be more eco-friendly and economically than the trust’s existing fleet.

Overall, it is hoped the trust will save upwards of £3.3 million per year once all the new vehicles come into service.

Jenny Smith, general manager for Tele-Gence, commented: “It’s great to see these new models replacing the trust’s older fleet, which will bring much-needed cost savings and new facilities to help serve the public.”

Your business can benefit from affordable telematics with no hidden start-up fees or long-term commitments. Find out how at www.tele-gence.com