Eco-Driving

A friend of mine has been charged with saving money by reducing his companies transportation costs. The business operates a fleet of vans and which are essential for their ongoing success. So my buddy is looking at two key ways to make some significant savings. He’s been told that if they can’t make savings on their transport costs then they’ll be looking at making some people redundant, so the pressure is on.

Firstly, he is ensuring that all newly acquired vehicles are on van lease contracts. Almost unbelievably the company has not, until now, been leasing their vans, instead opting to buy them outright. The known monthly van lease payments make financial planning much simpler and the headaches that they have previously had when disposing of their old used vans are completely removed.

Secondly he has introduced the concept of eco-driving to his van drivers. Most had never even heard of the term and had no idea what it meant for their driving. The eco-driving steps he has taken include:

 

  1. Removing all extraneous weight from the company vans
  2. Routinely checking van tyre pressures and keeping them at optimum settings
  3. Ensuring that all vans are in tip top condition (he has negotiated to replace vans with his leasing company every 2 years)
  4. Instructing drivers in how to read the road ahead and slow their van using the engine rather than the brakes
  5. Encouraging drivers to drive within speed limits by ensuring they have plenty of time to make their deliveries
  6. Reduce the time that vans are idling by telling drivers to carry out their initial checks before starting their engines and to turn them off when they are sat in queues of traffic.

The company van drivers have welcomed the new approach as they are getting to drive far better quality vehicles and they are far less pressurised to drive fast to make their deliveries. Early indications are good and its looking like he is on target to make some significant fuel cost savings over the coming months and hopefully will avoid those redundancies.

 

BTW - Leasing isn’t only good for businesses. You too can make some significant savings, and get to drive the car that you want, using personal car leasing.