If you are a fleet manager, nobody needs to tell you how expensive fuel can be for a fleet business. Fuel is one of the highest costs for any fleet, and it can be challenging to reduce your fuel expenditure. If your drivers’ routes have lots of hills, you may be spending more on gas than you like. Luckily, there are many ways to save on fuel, even in hilly terrain. Let’s explore some of the many ways your fleet can save fuel.
How Can You Save Fuel While Driving on Hills
When you come to a hill, your first instinct is often to gun the engine, so you aren’t slowed down when climbing the hill. While this does get you up the hill faster, it wastes more fuel than necessary. The best course of action is actually to slow down when climbing a hill. Aim for a speed that’s slightly slower than the speed limit.
When you finally reach the top of the hill, you can take your foot off the accelerator. Gravity will pull your car down the hill, and you won’t have to use any gas at all to make it to the bottom! Try to use your brake as little as possible as it causes wear on the car.
Other Tips for Saving Fuel
We’ve written previously with extensive information on how to save on fuel, but we will summarize the main points here. For more details, be sure to check out How to Reduce Fuel Consumption in Trucks.
- Use Route Planning Tools: Route optimization gets you to your destination using the most efficient route possible. This will save you lots of fuel.
- Promote Better Driving Behaviors: Speeding and rapid acceleration are big fuel wasters. Use telematics technology to track driving behaviors, so you can eliminate any problematic fuel-wasting habits.
- Preventative Maintenance: Keeping your vehicles well-maintained makes a huge difference. After all, a vehicle can only operate at top efficiency when its parts are in good shape.
- Fuel Cards: A fuel card gives you discounts and perks when you buy fuel from a specific brand. It also prevents unauthorized purchasing at fuel stations. They can also be linked with your telematics system to maximize fuel savings.
- Fuel Tax Credit: It’s easier to report your fuel usage when you have telematics systems to track everything for you. You can deduct the fuel cost on your tax return and earn a fuel tax credit.
- Fleet Utilization: Fleet management software allows you to see where your vehicles and assets are so you know how to best utilize the tools that you have. It also helps you determine how many assets you’ll need for a job so you don’t use too many.
Save on Fuel with Fleet Management Software
Azuga’s fleet management solution helps you save money in many ways, including fuel. We offer route optimization, telematics, and maintenance alerts – these will be your assets if your goal is reducing fuel use. Learn more about how we can help you achieve your fleet goals by scheduling a demo with one of our experts.
