Bosses demand cut in fuel duty

May 16 2008 By William Green and Adrian Pearson

HAULIERS and commercial fleet managers under the cosh from rising fuel prices are turning to sophisticated technology to beat prices at the pumps.

Christopher Chisman-Duffy, MD of GlobalLive, which has offices at Wynyard, said he was “snowed under” with orders for vehicle monitoring systems - fuel spy technology that shows bosses where gas is being wasted.

He said: “The main waste is in idling time. You don’t know if they’re switching the engine off or not unless you’ve got tracking.”

The system, which can also help increase productivity through route monitoring and reduce insurance costs, also features driver-friendly features, such as panic buttons that alert head office to a problem.

Tees-based Transmore Vehicle Hire is so convinced of the benefit of tracking systems, which it claims can cut fuel bills by 20%, that it is now offering clients a free three-month trial.

“Tracking is an essential business tool,” said MD Peter Abdale. “Businesses are already seeing enormous savings every day.”

The company, which is part of Darlington-based Northgate, the country’s largest commercial vehicle hire company, said one firm that fitted tracking systems to 10 vehicles saved £12,000 a year on fuel and overtime.

Mr Chisman-Duffy said a haulier getting four to five miles to the gallon could save up to £25 a week on one vehicle, set against an average cost of £27 a month for the system. “I have one small cleaning company with three vans on the road whose bills dropped by £800 a month.”