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05/02/2014
South West Coaches are based in Wincanton. A family run business, they employ over 100 members of staff, including drivers, admin staff and mechanics to maintain the company’s vehicles. They have over 112 vehicles, both coaches and buses, and operate from 3 different depots.
The company is a very successful one, but like most businesses within the transport industry they were being hit by rising fuel costs. Their average yearly spend on fuel totaled £1m a year. The company was desperate to get the fuel bill down, and they were also conscious of the need to improve their green credentials, as they were concerned about the environmental effects their fuel needs were having.
They wanted a system in place that would be cost-effective, quick and easy to use and combined tracking capabilities with business planning.
They got in touch with TomTom business partner Fleetview Solutions, who installed the LINK 300 device, alongside Remote LINK Working Time Units and WEBFLEET monitoring system. Initially, they installed the system in just 30 coaches, to see what the impact was, and almost immediately the company started to notice results.
Fuel consumption decreased by 5%, saving the company money that effectively paid for the system.
The system also allowed the company to clearly identify which driver was in control of a vehicle, and allowed them to track driving style and performance. Significantly, this was a system that was embraced wholeheartedly by the company’s drivers, who in turn adopted an improved driving style. They viewed it as a tool to help them safeguard their jobs and sought to improve their performances. In particular, the company noticed an increase in moderate breaking and accelerating.
Not only was this better for the maintenance of the vehicles, it also meant that customers on journeys were a lot happier without harsh braking and speeding. The company have also been able to reduce the idling times of their vehicles.
The future looks bright for the company, now that they have their new system in place. The new fleet management tools have helped them to tender new jobs as they can promote it as an important safety feature. As the system allows the company to track where its vehicles are at all times, it’s particularly valuable to organisations that want to transport children. And the time it’s saved the company’s inspectors, who can now check on the scheduling of vehicles from the comfort of their own offices, has proved invaluable!
According to Alan Graham, Managing Director of South West Coaches, the benefits of the system “were immediate and tangible and TomTom” and it has swiftly become “a critical tool for driving costs down and encouraging better driver behaviour. It has certainly given our business a leading edge.”
If you think that your business could benefit from TomTom Fleet Management systems, in the same way that South West Coaches has then don’t delay any longer!
Call G-Force Communications now on 01928 715 724 and find out how you can cut costs and make your business more efficient!