There are over 32 million small businesses in the United States. With so much competition in place, it’s essential to provide stellar customer service in order to stand out.
For businesses that deal with fleet management, understanding how to reduce fleet fueling costs is crucial. The good news is that fueling fleet vehicles for a lower amount of money is easier than it seems. Let’s explore key information you need to know.
Prioritize Preventive Maintenance
One of the best steps you can take when it comes to minimizing fuel costs is preventive maintenance. This typically involves scheduling oil changes, tuneups, etc. on a regular basis.
Not only will this help you reduce your overall fuel usage, but it can also maximize the longevity of your vehicles. Switching to synthetic oil can also go a long way, as this will reduce friction in the engine. Don’t neglect this obligation, as it is one of the most important when it comes to conserving fuel and improving how your fleet operates.
Don’t Neglect Tires
The quality of your tires will play a large role in your gas mileage. Underinflated tires can increase fuel consumption by a substantial amount. They also carry unnecessary risk, as tires in this condition are more likely to burst or tear while on the road.
Proper tire pressure will reduce drag and make your vehicles more efficient overall. Get in the habit of regularly checking the tire pressure of your fleet so that you can correct areas of concern before the day begins.
Reduce Idle Times
Idle time reduction is crucial if you want to save as much fuel as possible. Unfortunately, this is often a difficult task for business owners. This is particularly true for those who have large fleets.
A great first step to take is to train your drivers properly so they understand the importance of idle time reduction. As long as they follow their routes appropriately, there should be very little idle time along their journey.
Once this situation is handled appropriately, you’ll notice an immediate reduction in fuel usage. Take this into consideration moving forward, as idle time reduction should always be a main priority.
Practice Safe Driving
Interestingly, unsafe driving can take a large toll on your fuel supply. This includes rapid acceleration, hard braking, fast cornering, and excessive lane changing. Similar to idle time reduction, properly training your team can eliminate unsafe driving habits.
A great way to take this a step further is to reward drivers for their safe driving behavior. This can come in the form of extra privileges, additional days off, etc.
With a system like this in place, you will likely find that your fleet drivers operate safer than ever before. Just be sure to hold drivers accountable for future indiscretions.
Optimize Your Routes
Optimizing your routes is something you simply cannot neglect. The further distance you travel, the more fuel you’ll burn. The same can be said about spending a longer amount of time on the road than necessary.
GPS navigation can easily help you handle this obligation. You should aim to reduce as many miles as possible from your fleet routes. However, you should also consider how long the journey will take.
As previously mentioned, spending an excessive amount of time on the road will cause you to use a larger amount of fuel. For example, let’s assume that a 40-mile route takes 90 minutes to complete.
Your GPS might provide you with an alternative for your route that is only 30 miles. However, if this takes 110 minutes to complete, you’ll need to account for the extra time you spend driving.
Use Electric Vehicles
As you might expect, electric vehicles can substantially reduce your fuel usage. They offer an extremely high fuel economy and are becoming much more popular.
This means that charging stations are becoming common throughout major cities. Fortunately, EV trucks are still fairly expensive. The cost might serve as a barrier to entry for businesses looking to add electric vehicles to their fleet.
Keep in mind that there are certain government incentives in place that can help lower the amount you pay for an electric vehicle. While this likely won’t prove to be a substantial amount, you can still save money on your purchase.
Use Analytics Technology
This is one of the most important steps to take. Analytics technology will allow you to pinpoint areas of concern.
It will also allow you to emphasize strategies that work and reconfigure those that aren’t pulling their weight. To clarify, you can check analytics data on the GPS tracking devices within your fleet.
This will provide information on the average speed of your drivers’ vehicles, the average miles per trip, and other important metrics. You can then focus on improving certain aspects of their role, such as driving at a slower rate or not braking as hard. With this information on hand, you can make drastic changes that significantly reduce your overall fleet fueling costs.
Reducing Fueling Costs Is Simple
At first, it might seem complicated to reduce the fueling costs for your fleet. The above information has everything you need to know to make the decisions best for your business.
From there, you’ll be able to hit target metrics that you previously thought were unattainable. Our blog has plenty of other business-related articles that can help you make better decisions in the future. Check them out today to see what you can learn!
