It’s no secret to anyone in the fleet industry that gas prices are higher than ever. This is a considerable strain on any fleet business, as fuel is the biggest expenditure most fleet companies have. Gas is the lifeblood of any fleet business, so what can you do to save in a time like this? Luckily, today’s technology offers solutions that have never been available before to help your business save on fuel. So let’s learn how to reduce fleet fuel costs with the right technology solutions.
Telematics
Telematics helps you cut down on fuel costs in two significant ways. What you’ll need to focus on is driver behavior. In particular, speeding and idling are the culprits to watch. How does telematics catch these behaviors, and how do they reduce fuel use?
Speeding
Of course, you’ll want to reduce speeding for various reasons. Most importantly, it’s unsafe for your drivers and everyone on the road. High-speed accidents are more likely to result in injuries or death. And when accidents occur at higher speeds, it hurts your business’s reputation and will likely result in fines for your fleet.
But for this article, we will break down how it affects your gas bill. For every five miles per hour that your drivers speed over 50 miles per hour, you end up paying an additional $0.20 per gallon of gas. This is why you’ll need to reduce speeding ASAP. How can telematics help?
You’ll need to enact a strict speeding policy over your drivers and ensure you communicate it clearly. However, you can’t be in the passenger seat to enforce it. Luckily, telematics can track your drivers’ speed. When you supplement with technology like Azuga SpeedSafe, you can receive alerts when your drivers speed, particularly within the context of posted speed limits.
Idling
Idling may be more of a silent culprit when it comes to wasting fuel. However, it is significant. For every hour your drivers spend idling, a truck wastes about 0.8 gallons of fuel. This may not sound like very much but think of all the time your drivers might be letting their trucks idle. When they’re stuck in traffic, taking a break in their car, waiting on customers or coworkers, or completing paperwork, they may be using up your fuel.
Tackling idling is very similar to how you handle speeding. You’ll first want to implement a policy against it. Next, you’ll track idling with fleet management software and telematics. Telematics tells you how long each vehicle in your fleet spends idling and how much fuel is wasted when they do so. This allows you to take targeted action armed with information about how this behavior is affecting the business.
Route Planning Software
Route planning software is a surefire way to reduce your fleet’s fuel use. This technology harnesses a combination of algorithms, machine learning, historical data, and telematics to find the most fuel-efficient path that includes all destinations for your drivers throughout the day. It detects places where they may run into delays like traffic, construction, school zones, and more where fuel may be wasted. It also increases efficiency by ensuring you have just the right amount of vehicles on the road, so you’re not wasting resources. With route planning software, you cut your fuel spending down significantly.
Maintenance Alerts
Maintenance is an immense part of ensuring fuel efficiency in your vehicles. If your vehicles are not in their best condition, your fuel may simply go to waste. One aspect you must pay particular attention to is your tires. Tires that aren’t adequately inflated or aligned require more effort to travel. Fleet maintenance software from Azuga has a feature called scheduled maintenance. If your tires aren’t properly inflated, you’ll get an alert so you can fix the problem immediately. It also helps you keep your regular maintenance appointments, preventing your vehicles from falling into disrepair. Promote good fuel economy and protect yourself from costly repairs by investing in scheduled maintenance for your fleet.
Try Out the Best Fleet Technology
If you’re looking to save on fuel, you’ll want to start right away. Who knows when prices are going down, and there’s never a bad time to save on your highest cost. Azuga offers all of the technology solutions mentioned in this article, and you can meet with one of our experts to try a demo and see for yourself the savings you can accomplish.
