As the auto industry evolves so too does the world of fleet, including the way fuel is managed. Indeed, with the likes of improved vehicle safety technology, the advent of telematics and the subsequent data it provides, fleets are finding these burgeoning technologies are helping how they manage their fuel spend.
Ways to Reduce Fuel Spend
- Rightsizing the Fleet
- Preventive Maintenance
- Alt-Fuel Fleets
- Fuel Cards
- Idling
Ways of Rightsizing
According to the U.S. Department of energy, fleet managers should evaluate how important each vehicle is to the fleet’s performance when considering rightsizing. This includes looking at:
● What is the optimal number of vehicles required to properly support the fleet’s needs?
● What tasks are accomplished by each vehicle?
● What is the daily, weekly, or monthly mileage of each vehicle?
● Are fleet vehicles the optimal vehicle type, class, and size for the job?
● Are there any vehicles that are no longer cost effective to operate or no longer fulfilling their purpose?
● Are there any vehicles that are no longer being used or have a lot of downtime?
● Can any vehicles be replaced by lighter, more fuel-efficient vehicles?
How Idling Affects You
Unnecessary idling is generally considered a wasteful business practice for fleets. Here are some vehicle idling facts from Clean Cities.
● Idling a car wastes up to 0.5 gallons of fuel per hour.
● A medium-duty truck wastes 0.4 to 0.6 gallons of fuel per hour.
● Idling in the U.S. uses more than 6 billion gallons of fuel at a cost of more than $20 billion each year.
● Idling increases vehicle maintenance costs.
● Engine idling can shorten vehicle life.