Overview
The project responded to the need to save energy and reduce CO2-emissions in transport.
RECODRIVE aimed at merging existing ecodriving initiatives with good fleet management and logistics optimisation practices to push fuel saving in fleets beyond 10%. RECODRIVE focused on all processes with human components and supported fleet owners.
In addition to the project management, RECODRIVE comprised six technical work-packages:
WP2 Framework analysis prepared the ground for a knowledgeable specification of the measures. In this work package baseline analysis was conducted in order to investigate best cases and to analyse existing campaigns and their effects.
WP3 Materials and set up of the demonstrations produced audit schemes for energy related processes like procurement, driver training and fuel management, the planning documents for success prone demonstration and last but not least also for the dissemination and the internal marketing
WP4 Demonstrators: the measures were validated in demonstrators in 9 European countries with a total of approx. 1,500 kilometres and high consumption. Different kinds of fleets were included, including electric vehicles.
WP5 Evaluation and policy formulation specified and implemented the evaluation, ensuring that performance indicators and fuel savings were met. A formulation of validated concepts for the various fleet types and motivating facts for regional and city administration were provided as a result of the cross comparative evaluation.
WP6 Networking and dissemination ensured targeted awareness raising for the project and networking.
WP7 Common dissemination activities- together with WP6 - provided support for training/assistance and networking amongst captive and other fleet owners, and also addressed individuals/citizens by supporting driving schools and internal driver training for vocational drivers and providing their teachers with materials.
Results
The demonstration fleets achieved savings of between 3 and 10%. Many of them implemented driver training in the first place.
Some findings from the demonstrators were as follows:
Maintenance to be included!
- Driver training was only one of the measures to be taken - it has to be combined with maintenance (air filter cleaning, tire pressure control) and route optimisation
- Maintenance - applicable to all kinds of fleets, was often done by third parties - so measures or indicators had to be included in the contract which might have had some rewarding elements itself.
Some parts of fleet management were still untouched!
- Vehicle procurement had still to be developed further, since it had to be in line with the transport demands
Continuous effort was needed to keep the intelligence in the fleet
- Continuous training was required - due to high fluctuation of drivers (no impact of directive 2003/59/EC yet)
- Efficient driving style was not always a priority of the drivers - thus training, motivation of drivers, rewarding schemes were necessary
Rewarding has two faces
- Monetary rewarding schemes can be major motivators, but should not be seen as part of the payroll
- Long-term results depend on the continuous commitment of the management
- Rewarding was a sensitive issue; it had to be in line with the company's culture in order to avoid undesired side effects
Rewarding had to be flexible and be combined to the needs of the fleet
- Financial rewarding
- Social benefits: Additional days off, satisfying tasks, incentives acting on a psychological level
- Badges for fuel saving champions
Quite some difference in fleet management quality
- Monitoring: fuel consumption measures were not usual in some public transport companies; data was available, but not adequately analysed and used by the management
- fuel theft and private vehicle use was a very big motivator for setting up monitoring schemes
Monitoring needs sophisticated approach
- Load and route factors were crucial (measurement had to consider these factors)
- Traffic conditions had a major influence on the fuel consumption /CO2 emission
Positive side effects
- Decrease of accidents
- Decrease/eliminati
Policy implications
A lot of emphasis still has to be placed on awareness raising of fleet operators. Precursors are necessary to convince fleet operators to spend part of the saved money in rewarding schemes for pushing the motivation of their staff. Otherwise the savings in CO2 emissions and fuel reduction cannot be retained.