Save Money and the Planet with Eco-Driving
Where Do You Live?
A friend of mine has been charged with saving money by reducing his companies transportation costs. The business runs a fleet of vans and the they simply can’t manage with fewer vehicles. So my buddy is looking at two key ways to make some significant savings. He’s been warned that if the company can’t make savings on their transport costs then they’ll be likely to make some people redundant, so he is under some pressure.
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 sometimes using bank loans to fund the purchase. The agreed monthly van lease payments make budgeting much simpler and the headaches that they have previously had when disposing of 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. The eco-driving steps he has taken include:
- Removing all unnecessary weight from all company vans
- Regularly checking and verifying that van tyre pressures are at optimum settings
- Ensuring that all vans are in tip top condition (he has negotiated to replace vans with his leasing company every 2 years)
- Instructing drivers in how to read the road ahead and slow their van using the engine rather than the brakes
- Encouraging drivers to drive within speed limits by ensuring they have plenty of time to make their deliveries
- 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 are really happy with this new initiative as they are now driving top quality, new vans and they are less pressure to drive fast to make their deliveries. Early indications are that he is on target to make some significant transportation 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.
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