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Electric Or Gas-Powered Vehicles: Which One Does Your Fleet Need?

Posted on June 21, 2021 | by Alexis | Leave a Comment

When you think of electric vehicles (EVs), what immediately comes to mind? Very likely you’re thinking about those tiny little cars and even tinier parking spaces outfitted with charging stations. But did you know that modern EV’s come in all shapes and sizes? Auto companies are constantly coming up with innovative ways to “electrify” large trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles, and there’s never been a better time to plug in.

Many major auto manufacturers, including Ford and Rivian, are rolling out electric commercial vehicles, and because they’re only likely to become more common than less, there are a number of things to consider when deciding whether or not to make the switch from gas to electric trucks for your fleet.

EV or Gas-Powered?

There’s never been a better time than now to start thinking about adding EVs to your fleet. There are pros and cons to early adoption of electric trucks, including business needs, vehicle requirements and resources to support both EVs and gas-powered vehicles.

Pro #1: Saving Money

Compensation can be a big incentive for fleet managers who are on the fence about making the switch to electric vehicles. According to Environment Canada, the transportation, oil and gas sectors were the largest emission producers in Canada, accounting for 52% of total emissions in 2019.

The Canadian Government introduced the Green Freight Assessment Program (GFAP) in 2018, in order to help fleets reduce fuel costs and emissions over the next four years. The GFAP applies to medium and heavy duty vehicle fleets who are considering purchasing alternative fuel vehicles; those who invest in retrofit or low-emission vehicles can receive up to $100,000 from GFAP.

Pro #2: Cutting Costs

EVs are four times more efficient than internal combustion engines, which means you save money on fuel. Furthermore, electric vehicles have fewer equipment needs; they don’t require spark plugs or oil changes, which translates to less time and money spent on maintenance.

Pro #3: The future is electric

Not only does the future of electric trucks speak to a more eco-friendly future, but it also has the capabilities for stronger, faster and tougher vehicles. As fleets look ahead, national policy is going to change around zero-emission targets. For example, the U.K. is introducing a ban on petrol and diesel cars in 2035. If you don’t want to be left behind, now might be the time to consider adopting EV vehicles into your fleet. Electric trucks might not yet have the capacity for long-distance travel, simply due to the shortage of EV charging stations, but in the meantime, EVs are a great choice for local routes, and can make a big impact with short-distance travel.

What to consider

Although EVs represent a roadmap to eco-conscious trucking and huge fuel savings, There are several hurdles that remain before their adoption is widespread.

#1: EVs Are Expensive

New technology is expensive. For example, the 2021 Rivian R1T, one of the first all-electric trucks to hit the market, starts at $69,000 US — more than double the price of a 2020 combustion-powered Ford 150.

#2: There’s Not A Lot Of Data — Yet

Currently, EVs are limited to specific applications that are well-suited to the technology; there will be many questions about their capabilities until such time as they can log significant travel time in real-world trucking operations.

#3 Range Anxiety

Route distance and road range can be an issue without infrastructure, leading to “range anxiety”; the fear that a vehicle won’t make it to its destination before getting to a charging station. The higher the speed, the more energy EVs require — most experts recommend that EV drivers keep their speed under 100 km to maintain battery life.

In addition, EVs don’t perform well in the cold. Using the vehicle’s heating system in cold weather can drain the battery, leaving its range cut by more than 40%. If your electric commercial truck is loaded up with cargo, you will now have to consider how the additional weight could affect power, which might require more EV charging stations along regular routes.

Vehicle manufacturers are still trying to figure out range solutions for longer trips, including larger batteries that may have capacity to hold more electricity. For example, Rivian announced vehicle-to-vehicle charging, meaning drivers can charge their EVs with another one’s leftover juice. Even further down the road, there’s a city in Sweden that will soon install real-life “electric roads” that allow you to charge your EV while you drive.

Considering EVs? Consider GoFleet

It’s important to know your company intrinsically; what makes it tick, its size, scope, purpose, key stakeholders, what kinds of routes your vehicles take, and what kind of vehicles you already have so you can determine what you need. Can your company afford to invest in a complete overhaul of a brand-new fleet of electric vehicles? Probably not. If you start to gradually import new EVs, will your existing combustion-engine fleet suffer? How gradually should new vehicles be incorporated? As you start the process of adding EVs to your roster, GoFleet can help you make the transition as seamless as possible.

Manage and Support your EV fleet

With GoFleet, fleet managers can stay on top of planning, scheduling, and completing service tasks with real-time updates and reporting. Review the fuel and EV energy usage for your fleet, allowing insights for electric range and performance of your vehicles. Reports could also be used to maximize and identify if any of your PHEVs are running solely on gas.

We’ll provide support across your entire EV fleet; If your drivers have smart devices, no additional hardware is required. Just install the gps tracking app on their phones and start running vehicles with more efficiency.

Visibility On Fuel And EV Energy Usage

We’ll supply a complete charging history of your EVs, showing you when and where the vehicles are charging, the length of time the vehicles were charging at a specific location, and how much of a charge they received. Our EV Charge Assurance provides a comprehensive view into the charging status of all your fleet’s electric vehicles.

In addition, you’ll receive alerts and notifications, such as when battery levels of a vehicle reach critical levels while on the road and the battery needs to be charged. Remind your drivers when it’s time to plug in and prioritize charging order for your vehicles

The GoFleet Solution

Although diesel will likely remain many fleets’ primary fuel for the immediate future, especially for longer, more complex routes, the introduction of EVs represent the industry’s first steps toward a future beyond the internal combustion engine and a massive industry shift.

There seems to be a fast and furious race to the finish line to see who can bring EVs to market first, whereas the focus should be on smart, scalable implementation. Regardless of whether you choose an EV or gas-powered fleet, GoFleet offers comprehensive solutions designed specifically for your business requirements. We’ll help you determine what to look for based on your fleet’s needs; whether you’re transitioning to an entirely electric fleet or plan to retain gas-powered vehicles as well. We’ll help you strategize and plan for your fleet’s future, all while saving you time, money and resources. Contact one of our specialists today!

An Electric Bus Fleet: Going From 0 to 16,000 Electric Buses In A Decade

Posted on October 26, 2020 | by Alan | Leave a Comment

Across the globe, municipalities took the initiatives of shaping a greener urban future by quickly advancing and accelerating the bus fleet electrification process. Some cities have recognized the benefits of adopting electric buses in the very early stage of development. We are going to take a look at one city that leads the way in the bus fleet electrification field and explore how it accomplished this complex task.

Looking for more information about why fleets are looking at adopting greener technologies? Read the first part of this article here.

An 16,000 Electric Bus Fleet In Shenzhen, China

Shenzhen, a modern metropolitan city located in southern China, owns the world’s first and largest all-electric bus fleet. All 16,000 city’s public transit buses and 22,000 taxis are operating 100% on electric power. This fast-growing city is also the home to the largest electric vehicle manufacturer, BYD.

The Shenzhen Bus Group, the major bus transit agency in Shenzhen, estimated that by converting the entire fleet to electric, they are able to conserve 160,000 tonnes of coal per year and reduce annual CO₂ emissions by 440,000 tonnes. However, it’s important to note that Shenzhen didn’t have any electric buses let alone an electric bus fleet prior to 2010.

So how did a city grow from zero to 16,000 electric buses in just under a decade? There are many reasons and factors that contributed to this green accomplishment.

Growing Environmental And Health Concerns

Stepping into the 21st Century, China faces growing public concerns and criticisms about the deteriorating urban environment and air quality due to a spike in the concentration of lung-damaging particles called PM2.5. This increase is primarily attributed to the industry’s heavy expansion, increased private vehicles on the roads, and a profit-focused economic development national strategy.

Heavy pollution often leads to smog, an unfavourable intense air pollution condition that could have detrimental effects on human and ecosystem health. The situation worsened year after year, forcing the government to take action and introduce policies to reduce urban carbon emissions.

Converting the entire country’s bus fleet into an all-electric fleet is an important first step in mitigating carbon impacts and restore the environment on the government’s agenda.

Shenzhen has been selected as a pilot city to experiment with the fleet electrification project, primarily due to Shenzhen being a quite innovative city in China and the upcoming 2021 Universiade games. The city has been onboard with this ambitious plan of replacing all city’s 16,000 buses with electric buses, and hopefully, pave the way and serve as an example for other cities in China.

Governmental Support Of Transitioning To Electric Fleet

One of the key factors for any transit agency to transition into an electric fleet is getting wide support and funding from the local government. Electric bus units are often more expensive than the conventional buses in terms of purchase prices and upfront costs. However, as battery prices are rapidly dropping due to technological innovations and lowering manufacturing costs, it is highly likely that we will see more affordable electric bus models launched into the market in the near future.

Investing In The Right Infrastructures

Investing and establishing electric bus infrastructures is an essential practice in supporting and accelerating the adoption of electric buses. Knowing how to strategically place charging stations across the city directly impacts the electric bus network’s operational efficiency.

Shenzhen took a pioneering approach by installing charging stations at bus depots for overnight charging and also built charging stations at bus terminus so vehicles can charge periodically when they layovers. This ensures buses have enough battery energy to cover the entire day operations without the need to be taken out of service in the middle of the day for a lengthy full charge. It also maximizes vehicles’ utilization rates to make sure they spend more time on roads serving customers rather than being parked at charging stations, waiting for a charge. Additionally, the city opens these charging stations to other city-service vehicles, such as taxis, to improve charging infrastructures’ utilization rates. The results are astonishing, as these infrastructures accelerate the transitions of all 22,000 city taxis to a fully electric fleet.

Enhanced Manufacturer’s Support

A primary key concern raised by many transit agencies is whether the electric bus can have the same life expectancy as the conventional bus. The degree of battery degradation has a direct impact on the vehicle’s operational range and overall system productivity. Though most of the current electric bus manufacturers promised a vehicle lifecycle of 8 to 10 years or 100,000 miles, similar to what a conventional diesel bus can deliver, hesitation and indecision still exist among transit agencies over the reliability of electric buses.

Shenzhen Bus Group was confronted with the uncertainty associated with the bus battery performance at the early stage of the transition process. However, this uncertainty was solved by negotiating with vehicle manufacturers for a lifetime warranty of the vehicles’ battery. It’s important to note that one of the main reasons why the vehicle manufacturer was willing to offer a lifetime warranty is because they were able to manage the financial risks through continuously innovating battery technologies. Having strong foundational technological support from the manufacturers is an essential pillar to ensure the fleet electrification process can succeed and sustain in the long term.

The success of the bus electrification project in Shenzhen, China, highlighted that the bus electrification process relies on the support from multiple key stakeholders, strategic infrastructure, asset allocation and management.

Now, the following question remains: how can data be collected to not only track progress towards a greener future, but to ensure typical fleet management occurs?

The Role of Telematics in Electric Fleets

Electric Vehicle Suitability Assessment: Bringing You The World’s Largest Electric Vehicle Real-World Range Dataset

Electric vehicle adoption cannot succeed without telematics. From the preparation and consultation at the beginning of the process to the fleet scale management in the later stage of adoption, telematics plays a critical role in every part of the journey.

The EVSA (Electric Vehicle Suitability Assessment) is a systematic data-driven process that informs fleet managers about which parts of the fleet are suitable to transition to electric. Through leveraging the world’s largest electric vehicle real-world range dataset and analyzing the current fleet’s unique driving profile and historical patterns, the system can make personalized recommendations of fleet electrification blueprint and best implementation practices.

For transit agencies, not all buses in the depot are suitable or cost-beneficial to be converted to the electric bus immediately. Buses in newer conditions or those that were recently bought by transit agencies certainly should not be phased out before reaching the end of their lifecycle.

Range and the availability of charging infrastructures are some key considerations for transit agencies when it comes to fleet planning and deployment. They are more likely to pilot and deploy electric buses on shorter bus routes or routes with sufficient charging infrastructures. The EVSA has the best ability to know which route is fitted for electric bus operations after analyzing thousands of similar real-world scenarios, giving fleet managers the full confidence to implement plans.

Costs of fleet electrification are always a major concern for any business, including transit agencies. The EVSA will provide fleet managers with a clear comparison between the costs of operating the existing fleet and the costs of operating an electric vehicle fleet. Fleet managers could determine which approach or strategy they should be undertaking that best suits their budget. They are also able to view the initial expense and long-term savings of adoption to the electric vehicle fleet, paving the way for presenting these data to city council for approval.

Largest Set of Supported Electric Vehicle Models

The electric bus market is rapidly expanding as new vehicle models are introduced into the market every month. To provide the best possible support of the entire fleet operation, fleet managers need a telematics solution that supports all types of electric vehicle models in the fleet. That means telematic solutions must keep up with the growth of electric vehicle markets by continually adding vehicle support every month.

A winning solution should evolve with the changing market and support a broad range of electric bus models, so transit agencies can purchase any model they want without any constraints.

Highly Customizable Software Platform

Similar to other industries, transit agencies desire a high degree of customization on the telematics platform to add features to cater to their needs. The telematics solution providers have to offer customers a wide selection of add-on features and software integration capability so that transit agencies can migrate their existing features such as automatic passengers counting solutions, crowd monitoring systems, and a variety of transit-oriented software systems to the new electric fleet management platform. Telematics offers new exciting features such as battery degradation monitoring, energy use tracking, and temperature impacts on range real-time analytics tools to provide comprehensive electric fleet support.

Electric Vehicle Charge Assurance Dashboard: Guarantee A Smooth Operation

Service reliability is a vital metric for transit operations. No transit agency wants to see one of their vehicles break down or declare out of service in the middle of passenger route due to low battery. The Electric Vehicle Charge Assurance Dashboard is a useful tool that enables fleet managers to monitor vehicle charging status in real-time. Fleet managers will get an alert if the vehicle wasn’t plugged in or charging didn’t start correctly. The dashboard also warns fleet managers of any electric vehicle that didn’t reach the specified battery level due to a charging issue, allowing fleet managers to take preventive actions such as taking the vehicle out of service early.

The Future Of Electric Buses

As battery technologies continue to improve and evolve, we expect to see buses with improved range and longer lifecycles in the future. The extended range will open up new opportunities and provide more flexibility to transit agencies in terms of route planning and work assignment.

Expanding charging infrastructures and developing new charging technologies can also significantly improve operational flexibility and vehicle utilization rates. Wireless charging provides a glimpse into the visionary future of electric bus charging solutions. The wireless solution involves charging pads positioned at terminus and bus layover points. Whenever the bus stops on the charging pad for a brief layover, the bus automatically adds energy to its battery through an air gap. This flexible “on-route” charging solution allows buses to complete unlimited cycles of trips without the need to return to the depot for a lengthy full charge. It is a transformative technology that allows electric buses to operate routes of any length without range concerns.

There is no doubt that the electric bus is the future of public transit. It is our answer and response to the worsening global environment, declining community health, and increasing social burdens. Transitioning to renewable energy is the mission of our generation. The electric bus is just the beginning of this challenging journey.

Contact us to speak with a fleet electrification expert to see how we can leverage telematics technologies to help your fleets go electric.

How Public Transportation Fleets Can Become A Green Fleet

Posted on October 26, 2020 | by Alan | Leave a Comment

Public transportation is a lifeline for cities. It plays an irreplaceable role in communities of all sizes and connects people to places and destinations. Public transportation has had a long history of being a cost-effective environmentally-friendly method of travel. A single bus can carry up to 50 passengers and replace approximately 30 -40 private vehicles on the roads.

Municipalities and Governments worldwide have prioritized the investing, improving, and revolutionizing of public transit systems to ensure continued success.

Climate change and public transit is continuously spoken about together as transit systems are one way for entire populations to take steps towards reducing their carbon footprint and environmental impacts.

In fact, this focus of green fleets reducing carbon footprints and environmental impacts has also moved into nearly every industry – especially industries that are vehicle-based businesses. So much so, that embracing renewable clean energy has never been a more imminent task, and the public transportation sector has already embarked on this revolution.

Why The Public Transportation Sector Is Looking At Green Fleets Right Now

Technology Maturity

Municipalities and public transit agencies have been eyeing for greener solutions to power daily operations. Shifting an entire bus fleet to zero-emission has been on the agenda for many transit agencies. In fact, some cities have already accomplished this goal of green fleets, while others have set a target date for when the transformation will be complete.

Toronto, home to the current largest electric bus fleet in North America, expects to achieve a fully zero-emissions fleet by 2040. Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) based in New York City, the largest transit agency in North America, also plans to move towards an all-electric fleet by 2040.

As the electric vehicle battery technology is constantly improving and getting more mature and advanced over time, the electric bus has become an increasingly viable and appealing option to replace diesel bus fleets as the future form of bus transportation.

Government Mandate And Regulatory Guidance

The government mandate and regulatory guidance further push transit agencies worldwide to consider shifting to a full-electric fleet. The United Kingdom has committed to banning all sales of diesel-engine and gasoline cars by 2040. Additionally, they are planning to ensure that all vehicles on roads to be zero-emissions by 2050. Other European countries have followed a similar approach by setting a target date to phase out diesel and gasoline vehicles.

Back in North America, the Canadian province of British Columbia has also introduced a similar plan to end eternal-combustion sales in the upcoming decades.

Public transit agencies, often funded and administered by the government, need to set an example for the rest of the society through determination and real actions to progressively transition into renewable-powered operations. Transit agencies have an undeniable responsibility to lead the change and raise public awareness about the benefits electric vehicles.

Transition Takes Time

Another pressing reason why transit agencies should begin moving to an all-electric or green fleet now is due to scaling. Transit agencies in major metropolitan areas tend to have large fleet sizes of hundreds or thousands of buses. Converting the entire existing fleet to an all-electric fleet is not an easy task and requires a vast amount of time and work from agencies to carefully plan out the implementation process in stages.

The length of the transition period also depends on the production rates of vehicle manufacturers and battery suppliers. All these uncertainties and complexities of work highlight that change takes time, and transit agencies need to act now to meet the regulatory deadlines and/or targets.

Lower Operational And Maintenance Costs

Though change is hard, the benefits of a green fleet in public transportation is rewarding.

In the beginning, many transit agencies were skeptical about transitioning to an electric bus fleet due to concerns associated with cost and performance. Some were worried about the high initial purchase costs of electric buses, but that consensus is shifting rapidly. The lower operating costs of electric buses have made them a more economical option than internal combustion engine buses in the long run.

On average, it’s 2.5 times cheaper to operate an electric bus than powering a diesel bus. The fuel economy of electric buses is five times higher than that of diesel buses. Given that the electric bus and diesel bus have a similar lifecycle of 8-12 years, transit agencies can expect huge savings in fleet operational costs after the transition.

In fact, this does not even account for savings from maintenance costs which is far lower for electric motors than that of conventional motors.

Good For Our Planet

Cost-savings is just part of the advantages of committing to an electric bus fleet; the more significant impact concentrates on understanding what this change means to our planet.

An electric bus operates 100% on green technologies and is completely free of GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emissions. As buses are currently responsible for 25% of black carbon emitted in the transportation sector – its impact is something we can no longer overlook. As bus activity continues to increase in the future, we expect to see an additional 26,000 tons of black carbon being emitted into the air by 2030. Shifting to fully electric bus fleets can drastically cut down carbon emissions by 1.4 billion tons globally by 2050.

Because electric buses have no tailpipe, an improvement in local air quality can immediately be observed. Reducing global transportation sector emissions is a top priority, and bus fleet electrification paves a reasonable path to achieve this goal.

Good For Our Community

Reduced emissions from fleet electrification not only helps to lessen environmental burdens but also has a transformative impact on the local community health. Traditionally motor vehicles emit toxic and hazardous pollutants into the air through the exhaust system, causing a rise in illnesses in communities near roads.

Vulnerable populations with pre-existing medical conditions are at a higher risk of developing more severe symptoms and illnesses such as asthma, diabetes, lung cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. Children and the elderly with compromising immune systems are also faced with adverse health outcomes, including permanent lung damage and other long-term health effects.

Every year, pollutants from motor vehicles cost our economy billions of dollars. In the United States alone, around $24 billion to $450 billion of social costs per year are attributed to the health hazards caused by motor vehicle pollution. The astronomical magnitude of motor-vehicle pollution impacts prompted a revolution in finding new energy sources to power vehicles on the roads to protect and safeguard community health and improve global sustainability.

Building and transitioning into a zero-emission bus fleet is a fundamental step in reshaping our communities and protecting vulnerable populations. Research conducted in the Great Toronto and Hamilton Areas in Canada shows that electrifying and transitioning all public transit buses to green fleets can prevent 143 premature deaths per year in those areas.

In addition, moving towards a green fleet addresses one of the key complaints about diesel buses – the noise generated from the vehicle’s internal combustion engine. Exposure to prolonged noise can be an invisible killer that harms people’s hearing, causes stress and anxiety, and results in drivers’ fatigue. The electric bus offers unique advantages by presenting a much quieter riding and driving experience for passengers and operators. In fact, the bus is so quiet in most of the low-speed urban road scenarios that local communities won’t even notice a bus has passed by. Customers will truly enjoy a more comfortable, quieter, and superior commuting experience on an electric bus.

Pushing For Wider Adoption Of Electric Vehicles Across All Sectors

Investing in proper infrastructures to support the electric bus fleet’s growth will sustain change and foster continuous quality improvement over the entire bus network. Shifting to an all-electric fleet means a fundamental change in operations management and service planning. Installing and constructing new charging stations across bus depots, terminus and providing convenient intelligent charging solutions paves the way for expanding electric bus fleets.

Pushing for new electric vehicle charging stations not only benefits public transit services but also leads the way for the expansion of charging infrastructures for private electric vehicles. Only through building an extensive network of electric vehicle infrastructures and service facilities can we truly stimulate a bigger electrification trend in the market.

Curious to learn more about electric fleets and the role that telematics plays? Or how one city adopted 16,000 electric buses in a decade? Read the continuation of this article here.

Climate Targets May Result in More Sustainable Fleet Management

Posted on November 7, 2018 | by Jimmy Song | Leave a Comment

Sustainable fleet management is a forefront industry item because many businesses around the world are going greener. In fact, recently in October 2018, a climate study group advocated that humans need to be greener.

The IPCC & the 1.5 Degree Target

Global warming is a controversial topic. Some people believe that natural cycles caused recent climate change. However, a lot of scientists tend to disagree.

One group of scientists, the IPCC, issued a stark warning about global warming at a UN conference. They explained that humans need to act quickly to limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees in the next few decades.

Otherwise, if temperatures continue to climb over 1.5 degrees, scientists warn that there will be irreversible effects. For instance, rising water levels will leave some areas uninhabitable and deadly weather will become more common.

In particular, the IPCC noted that governments should aim to cut CO2 emission by 45%. Consequently, a 45% goal can significantly impact heavy fuel users- such as business fleets.

The Case for Sustainable Fleet Management

Nonetheless, many fleets are moving towards sustainable fleet management even without a carbon target. One explanation is taking environmental leadership. However, another reason is reducing business costs.

Multiple studies show that sustainable fleet management leads to business savings. For instance, fleets save directly on fuel costs and indirectly from tax credits.

How do you Implement Sustainable Fleet Management?

After deciding to go green, the next question is often, “How do you do it?”.

Fleets need to work on every area of their operation including purchasing assets, planning operations, and conserving fuel.

Asset Purchasing

The first area is purchasing equipment. Fleets are moving towards fuel efficient ideas such as electric vehicles and solar appliances.

Electric vehicles continue to be a fleet management trend in 2019. The technology is more feasible than ever, and as a result, a lot of fleets are testing the idea to cut fuel costs.

Another alternative is switching to solar appliances. For example, some fleets equip solar panels to power vehicle appliances. According to a study, solar power cuts 3% of fuel during drives and 16% of fuel during idling.

Route Planning

Yet another idea is route planning. Many fleets are combining internal functions into single routes rather than spreading out their trips.

To illustrate, consider the medical industry. Medical organizations might use vehicles to collect supplies and deliver medical test samples. Rather than sending out two vehicles, businesses are now combining tasks into a single route.

Fuel Conservation

Lastly, fleets are always looking for ways to reduce fuel usage. Some of the traditional ways of reducing fuel include implementing a no-idling policy and monitoring fuel mileage.

In 2018, however, fleets tried new ideas. For example, if you look at trucks on the road, you might notice that some trucks travel in a line. This is on purpose and is called “platooning”. Researchers found that platooned trucks can save up to 10% of fuel, which is a small step towards a 45% target.

Many fleets are adopting sustainable fleet management ideas. It’s a good move for moving green and for saving costs!

United Nations Environment Programme: Rapid and unprecedented action required to stay within 1.5ºC says UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Sustainable Roadmap: Environmental Considerations for Fleet Management

Paperwork Got You Down? Join the Paperless Revolution

Posted on February 14, 2017 | by Victoria Gole

Are you struggling to manage and keep track of all your invoices, bills of lading and other paper forms? Not only can this be annoying, but wasting labor hours handling endless paperwork can also be extremely costly.

Which is why so many people are transitioning most (if not all) of their paperwork into a digital format, to decrease the cost and time of filing paperwork. Plus, there’s an added bonus of getting forms and work orders emailed straight to you and the customer if needed, for a much easier workflow.

— The ELD Mandate Makes this the Perfect Time to Switch —

Because of the upcoming ELD Mandate, you have to switch from paper logs to electronic logs. Why not switch it all?

Our ELD solution, Geotab Drive, has multiple different optional integrations available – including an end-to-end solution for effective route planning and optimization for trucking and service based industries. The integration also includes an easy to use web-based platform for building forms, work orders, and route plans for drivers.

— Eliminate Paperwork & Lower Overall Operational Costs —

Through our route optimization engine you are able to optimize pick-up, delivery, P&D, and service based work orders across multiple drivers, time windows, and skills using the most cost-effective truck/standard route.

Drivers and dispatchers are able to easily manage communication of messages and work order statuses through instant mobile app notifications. Drivers can quickly and easily complete forms and send signatures or picture captures back to dispatchers for proof or service confirmation.

Let us help you eliminate costly paperwork and reduce planning time, miles driven, and overall operational costs. We will work directly with you to increase efficiency, route compliance and customer service with powerful dashboard reports and alerts.

Contact a fleet consultant today for more information.

Go Green With A GPS Fleet Management System

Posted on September 19, 2014 | by Devin Johnson

GPS Fleet Management Tracking Device Helps Businesses Go Green

Many businesses are feeling pressure to adopt “green” business practices and to reduce their carbon footprint. Some feel, however, that it is too big of a job to tackle and going “green” would not be worth the effort. In fact, having “green” fleet operations helps both businesses and the earth.

Reducing a business’ carbon footprint is easy with GPS fleet management. Fleet management software optimizes routes and dispatching to make the most efficient use of a fleet’s fuel consumption. Dispatchers are able to send the closest vehicles to job sites, reducing the amount of miles driven. Using fleet maintenance reports and alerts, businesses can ensure their vehicles are all efficiently operating. By controlling drivers speeding habits, excessive idling and aggressive driving, businesses can reduce their fleet’s emissions and the amount of fuel that is wasted.

Go Green By Reducing Fuel Consumption

GPS fleet management provides efficient routing for the drivers. They will have the most direct route from one location to another. The faster and shorter the route, the higher a business’ productivity is and the less money that will have to be spent in fuel costs. In addition, reducing the amount of miles driven reduces greenhouse gas pollution. This translates into a significant amount of carbon reductions plus a savings of thousands of dollars per vehicle.

Go Green With GPS Fleet Management Maintenance Reports

GPS green fleet management software allows businesses to remotely monitor important fleet information such as engine fault codes, status of the emissions control system and motor oil life. Business owners or fleet managers are able to set up reminders that can be sent via email or SMS text message for vehicle tune-ups, tire rotation and oil changes. These service alerts can be used to immensely decrease fuel usage and help businesses to maintain a “green” fleet. According to the Department of Transportation, it is estimated that over 5 million gallons of fuel are wasted each day because of low tire pressure. Furthermore, the United States Environmental Protection Agency reports that an engine that is poorly tuned can produce 50% more emissions and use 50% more fuel than an engine that is properly tuned-up.

GPS fleet management helps businesses run efficient fleet operations, reduces operating costs and helps save our planet by reducing greenhouse emissions.

Fuel Management Software For Your Fleet

Posted on June 10, 2014 | by Courtney redwell

Fleet Fuel Management Software

Keeping track of your fuel usage of a fleet of vehicles, no matter if it is a fleet of 2 or 2000 can be quite difficult. Fuel management software can help you keep track of fuel usage, where fuel is being wasted, and most importantly save you money.

GoFleet’s GPS fleet tracking system comes equipped with fuel management software. Fuel is clearly one of the biggest operating costs for many organizations so having a solution to provide advanced fuel management tools is very important. Not only will you receive the benefits of our fuel management software but you will also benefit from the many other elements our system has to offer.

Our GPS tracking devices are plug and play. There is no messy wiring, no install costs and best of all you can do it yourself in a couple of minutes.

GoFleet also provides all our valued customers with training on how to get the most out of our system.

Some of our Fuel Management Software features include:

Idling Time Reports
Driver Scorecard Reports
Audio In-Car Driver Coaching
Route Optimization
Fuel Usage Report

Idling Time & Cost Reports
Reduce the time your drivers spend idling to save you money on fuel. Idling time is normally the biggest fuel waster we commonly see with our clients. Our advanced idling report can show you just how much time your drivers are spending idling AND how much it is costing your company.

Driver Scorecard Reports
Our driver scorecard report shows all the “bad habits” of your drivers. These habits also are contributing to your wasted fuel. The habits include: speeding, harsh braking, hard acceleration and harsh cornering. The scorecard allows you to compare your drivers and see which ones may need some of your time to sit down with them and discuss their driving habits. These bad driving habits are a huge contributor to wasted fuel.

Audio In-Car Driver Coaching
Our driver coaching audio alerts (beeping function inside the car) helps drivers to correct fuel expending faults such as idling and speeding on their own. It is a reminder to them when they have had the car idling for too long, or go too high over the speed limit you set, to correct the behavior right away.

Route Optimization
Our advanced Route Optimization software allows you to optimize your route based on shorter distance and travelling time to further reduce your fuel consumption.

Fuel Usage Report
Fuel Usage Report is exactly what it sounds like, a report on the entire organization split up by drivers determining the fuel usage and costs for a specific period of time.

We want to work with you to save you money. Contact one of our fleet consultants today to learn more.

Telematics Plays a Huge Role in the Green Fleet Movement

Posted on June 5, 2014 | by Courtney redwell

The Role of Telematics in the Green Fleet Movement

A growing number of organizations have recognized the importance of implementing environmentally friendly processes and policies into their business. In an effort to achieve operational efficiency, many companies are no longer solely addressing cost control, but rather have increased the emphasis on environmental sustainability. Fleet management software is capable of providing these companies with the ability to address both cost and environmental concerns in an overall effort to operate with maximum efficiency. Companies that utilize fleets in their day to day operations are crucial to many industries and the overall economy so it is unlikely the number of fleets will decrease any time in the near future. However, through constant analysis and tracking of fleet activity, fleet management software is able to monitor a variety of key performance indicators involving areas such as emissions levels and fuel consumption.

Fleet Impact of New Fuel and Environmental Standards
“Fuel is one of our industry’s largest expenses, so it makes sense that, as an industry, we would support proposals to use less of it.” recently stated by Bill Graves, President and CEO of the American Trucking Association. The transportation sector is responsible for about 28% of all greenhouse gas emissions currently in the USA. The Obama Administration is working towards the development of greenhouse gas standards and vehicle fuel efficiency by 2016. They are ultimately working for a 10-20% reduction in fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, depending on the type of vehicle, beginning in 2014 running through 2018. The significance of telematics is emphasized through recent proposals; fleet management services enable companies to monitor areas such as mileage, idle time, speed and fuel consumption, all which simultaneously result in decreased fuel expenses, emissions and overall fleet operating costs.

Telematics Leading to the Success of Efforts in the Green Fleet Movement
Telematics is making fleets sustainable and efficient. The industry has had an impact on fleet operations, and has proven to be successful in making them safer, more efficient, and successful at operating in accordance with the corporate mission. Whether it be through the reduction of idling time or the optimization of routes, GPS tracking (telematics) has played a strong role in not only assisting fleets in saving money, but also enabling them to become more sustainable. Decreasing fuel consumption and cooperating with the local emission standard are the first steps towards the achievement of greener operations in a fleet based organization. There are also a number of steps that will assist a company in moving forward towards becoming a greener fleet:

Reduce Idle Time
Improve Vehicle Maintenance
Reduce Speeding
Reduce Unauthorized Vehicle Usage
Optimize Routing
Continuously Monitor Emissions

Original Article From Geotab:
The Role of Telematics in the Green Movement of Fleets

Green Fleet Management With GPS Fleet Tracking

Posted on June 4, 2014 | by Courtney redwell

Run a Green Fleet with GPS Fleet Tracking

According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA) about 20 pounds of CO2 emissions are produced from burning a gallon of gasoline. About 23 pounds of CO2 emissions are produced by burning a gallon of diesel fuel. EIA estimates that in 2013 US diesel fuel and gasoline consumption for transportation resulted in the emission of close to 1,095 and 227 million metric tons of CO2 for a grand total of 1,522 million metric tons of CO2.

Running a Green Fleet may have come up in some of your meetings, or has been suggested but nothing has been done about it because it seems like a very difficult and exhausting task. Running a green fleet was more than likely brought to your attention from an ethical perspective to help the environment and do your part as a company. What you may not have considered is the real economic concerns that also exist. It is in your best interest as a company to run a green fleet not only for environmental factors, but for increasing revenue and retaining existing customers as well.

In the increasingly environmentally conscious world we live in there is no excuse for organizations to not make the effort to run a green fleet, or at least a greener fleet than they are currently running. You will be more likely to retain your current customers as well as attract new eco-minded customers who are only looking to work with environmentally conscious companies. By making the commitment to running a green fleet you will also be saving your company money on high fuel costs.

Green Fleet Benefits:

Reduce Fuel Expenses
Increase revenue by appealing to eco-minded customers
Help the environment and make a difference by reducing emissions
Increase vehicle lifespan
Reduce unexpected maintenance

GoFleet makes running a green fleet easy and would love the opportunity to work with you to lower your CO2 emissions and increase your fuel savings. Contact one of our fleet consultants today to learn more about our GPS fleet tracking systems and how we can bring you closer to running a green fleet!

Reduce Fleet Emissions With These Easy Tips

Posted on June 3, 2014 | by Courtney redwell

Reducing fleet emissions can be seen as a difficult task as producing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions when running a fleet is inevitable. Reducing your fleet emissions will not only help the environment it will save your company money on gas, and who doesn’t want that?

The concept of reducing your fleet emissions is quite simple: the greater your fuel consumption, the greater your emissions will be. Reducing your fuel consumption will, in turn, reduce your fleet’s emissions and save you money.

The way employees drive company vehicles will either increase or decrease fuel economy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Fleets that are serious about becoming more sustainable must strive to modify their driver’s on-road behaviour to reduce fleet emissions.

GoFleet wants to work with you to lower your GHG emissions and save you money. Our intelligent GPS fleet tracking system makes reducing fleet emissions easy.

Here are easy tips to lowering emissions:

Avoid aggressive driving (eg. speeding, accelerating too quickly, harsh cornering, hard braking)
Avoid idling: Reduce fleet emissions/gas consumption easily, do not leave your vehicle running
Reduce additional mileage: Optimize your routes and minimize your number of stops
Drive according to the speed limit

Communicating these tips to your drivers and having them implemented are two totally different things. Yes it is one thing to tell them to make these changes but how will you know they are in fact changing their habits? Our GPS fleet tracking system will not only help monitor but also help implement and point out the negative driving habits of your drivers.

Reduce Aggressive Driving Habits
Aggressive driving like speeding, aggressive acceleration, hard braking and harsh cornering can all be monitored in our GPS fleet tracking system. It will show all of the listed infractions on the map exactly where it happened. We also have Driver Scorecard Reports where it will list the number of incidents each driver has had over the last week in comparison with all other drivers.

Eliminate Speeding and Idling
Speeding and idling are two of the largest contributors to higher fuel consumption. We offer something called “Audible Driver Alerts” that will alert your drivers of these infractions immediately when it happens. If your drivers are speeding or idling our device will detect it and start beeping, it will continue to beep until the infraction is fixed (speeding/idling is stopped). This feature also works for monitoring seat belt use.

Optimize Routes
Our software has a route planning tool that allows you to optimize your routes to save time and save on gas. Reduce fleet emissions by driving shorter distances to destinations.

Drive The Speed Limit
Since our software is so advanced it displays the posted road speed in comparison with your driver’s speed on the map. This is another way to ensure your drivers are not speeding, not wasting gas, and possibly the most important element, make sure they are obeying traffic laws.

Through effective implementation, you will be more likely to not only improve your fuel economy but also decrease GHG emissions and boost on-road safety. Reducing your fleet’s emissions will not only benefit you (and save you money) but it will also benefit the environment. Transportation is one of the largest, if not the largest, source of air pollution.

Contact GoFleet to find out how our GPS fleet tracking systems can help you move towards running a greener fleet and significantly reduce fleet emissions.