July 01, 2008
Fleets Can Save Money and Reduce Emissions, According to Networkcar's New Green Paper
SAN DIEGO– Fleets can reduce harmful greenhouse emissions while lowering operating costs, according to a new paper by Networkcar, a wireless fleet management provider. The new paper, "Go Green and Save Green," details the six areas that can significantly reduce fuel consumption and lower air pollution. The paper also provides examples of how small, medium, and large fleets can decrease fuel usage from between 3,000 to 58,000 gallons per year while reducing carbon dioxide emissions from between 54,000 to 1.3 million pounds annually.
"Lowering vehicle emissions is closely tied to reducing fuel costs and improving operating efficiency. To have the most impact, fleets need to go beyond systems that only monitor GPS location to those that also monitor engine diagnostics," said Keith Schneider, president of Networkcar. "Wireless fleet management systems such as Networkfleet that connect directly to the vehicle's engine computer can provide information such as exact fuel consumption, mileage, speed, and idle time for each vehicle. This information is essential to achieving a green fleet."
The paper identifies the six ways that wireless fleet management systems with diagnostic monitoring can reduce emissions and lower costs, including:
1. Reduce idle time: Excessive idling wastes fuel and increases vehicle emissions. Systems can be used to track and report idle time and compare miles per gallon across vehicles.
2. Improve vehicle maintenance: Receiving instant notification of any engine problems and automatic odometer readings help fleets ensure that vehicles run smoothly and use less fuel.
3. Reduce speeding: The ability to monitor actual speed provides fleet managers with the precise information needed to counsel drivers and reduce speeding, which causes unnecessary fuel consumption.
4. Reduce unauthorized vehicle usage: Fleets can reduce unnecessary vehicle use by monitoring vehicle location and hours of operation.
5. Optimize routing: By analyzing driving patterns and using historical location reports, fleets can choose routes that reduce miles and optimize driving schedules.
6. Continuous emissions monitoring: Vehicles in compliance with EPA requirements use less fuel than those that are non-compliant. In California, fleets with wireless emissions monitoring can eliminate physical smog checks at smog checking facilities, saving time and money.
The full green paper, "Go Green and Save Green – Wireless Fleet Management Systems Cuts Emissions While Reducing Operating Costs," can be downloaded free at
http://www.networkcar.com/networkcar/pub/whitepaper.