7 Ways to Reduce Fleet Fuel Costs This Winter

As a fleet manager, you understand fuel expenses take up a substantial amount of your business spending. Cutting down your fuel consumption is the best way to counter the impact of increased fuel prices, but it’s not the only way to do it. Below are seven ways you can reduce fleet fuel costs this winter.

 Use Cold-Weather Driving Techniques

Have your drivers implement cold-weather driving techniques this winter to keep fuel costs down, such as:

• Avoid using seat warmers and defrosters more than is needed
• Minimize idling to warm the vehicle up. Generally, engines warm up quicker when you’re driving. So, allow your vehicles to warm up for around 30 seconds and then gently drive off
• Ensure the oil is suited for colder weather

2. Improve Driver Driving Behaviors (speeding, harsh braking, idling)

Poor driving habits like harsh braking, speeding and quick acceleration can impact your vehicle’s fuel consumption seriously. Ensure your drivers know fuel-efficient driving habits to enhance road safety and save money.

Some include:

• Take foot off gas or slow down when going downhill
• Drive smooth in anticipation of various situations ahead to avoid unnecessary acceleration and harsh braking
• Drive at reasonable speeds
• Switch to higher gears early and skip gears when needed

Implement Fleet Preventative Maintenance Schedules

Low tire pressure is associated directly with increased fuel consumption of vehicles because with under-inflated tires, more acceleration is needed. By taking a proactive fleet maintenance approach and regularly scheduled inspections, you can address these issues efficiently. This results in saving on fuel and other avoidable maintenance-related costs.

4. Track Fuel Usage

Fleet tracking helps decrease fuel consumption in a few huge ways:

• You gain insight into how long the vehicles have been running as well as where and when they’re stopped which can help decrease out-of-route miles that increase your overall fuel consumption.
• You can dispatch workers that are the closest in customer call response and offer your drivers the most fuel-efficient routes possible.
• With accurate idle-time and engine runtime data, you can address lengthy idling times and decrease how much fuel is wasted on vehicles left running.

5. Optimize Routes

Optimizing routes can help your drivers get to their destinations quicker. The less time they spend idling and driving around in traffic, the more fuel you’ll save. GPS tracking software is the best technology to help you plan out routes efficiently. You can begin by improving route planning immediately by educating your drivers on different traffic apps that can help them avoid traffic problems in real-time.

6. Ensure You Have Fuel-Efficient Tires (reducing the rolling resistance of your tires)

Rolling resistance is important when looking at your tires for fuel economy. Moving tires requires energy and the more resistance your fleet vehicles have when it comes to getting moving, the more fuel they’ll burn. You can decrease your vehicles’ tires’ rolling resistance and help your vehicles get around better and more efficiently in a few ways:

• Air pressure: When your vehicle’s tires are deflated by 8 psi, it could cause an up to 20% increase in rolling resistance
• Tire tread: The deeper the tires’ treads are, the worse gas mileage you’ll get
• Tire size: Small tires on a small wheel are simpler to get moving from all the frequently stops drivers have to make in the city

 Replace Older Fleet Vehicles

Examine the total cost of ownership for every one of your fleet vehicles from time to time. Ownership costs can be substantially higher than the purchase price of the vehicles. Factor in costs of taxation, maintenance, fuel consumption and insurance. When it’s economically viable to replace older fleet vehicles with more efficient options, do so. You get a higher mpg rating with newer vehicles, which allow you to take advantage of long-term fuel cost benefits.

Looking to better manage your fleet? Talk to us here at LiveViewGPS about our fleet tracking and fleet management solutions.  Call us at 1-888-544-0494 today.

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