How to keep your petrol costs down

Petrol prices will continue to rise during 2008 so adopting a structured approach to fuel management is vital for businesses, according to fleet solutions provider cfc.

The organisation is warning companies to take action now to tackle the issues of rising petrol and diesel prices, despite the announcement in the recent Budget that the proposed 2p a litre tax rise would be put off until October.

"The delay gives fleets a little breathing space but the fact is that price rises seen in the last year dwarf the duty that has been delayed," said Alison Southcombe, marketing leader at cfc.

"While there is no evidence to suggest that we will see a further 20p per litre price rise repeated in 2008, two pence might not make that much difference. Instead, a structured fuel plan is needed.

"There is a perception among many fleets that you just have to grin and bear rising fuel costs but, in fact, there is much that can be done to manage down the amount of fuel your vehicles use and the pump prices that you pay," she added.

cfc recommends the following pointers when looking to reduce fleet running costs:

Measure your fuel use
A large number of fleets simply don't know how much fuel they use overall or per driver or per vehicle. You need to put a monitoring system in place. The easiest way to do this is to buy all petrol and diesel through specialist fuel cards. You can then access the information collected as paper or software generated reports that will give you an overall picture and highlight individual problems

Formulate a fuel policy
Having a policy on fuel use is a signal to your organisation that you are taking the issue seriously. There are a number of areas to consider but even simple steps can produce good long term results, for example, don't add cars to your fleet that do not meet a pre-agreed government combined average fuel consumption figure

There is a perception that you just have to grin and bear rising fuel costs but there is much that can be done to manage down the amount of fuel your vehicles use and the pump prices that you pay

Manage the issue
With the information provided by your fuel cards, you will be able to manage your fuel use proactively. Software is useful here. For example, you can set up what you believe to be acceptable bands of fuel consumption for different types of vehicle and ask the system to notify you when drivers or vehicles fall outside of these. You can also use your fuel card to closely manage fuel spend, for example, by specifying that drivers only use outlets that you consider to be price competitive, such as supermarkets

Consider the green angle
One of the good things about taking a proactive stance on managing fuel use is that you will also be able to manage your carbon footprint more effectively. This can make the whole issue easier to deal with internally because you can stress the importance of corporate responsibility, for example, it may be easier to encourage drivers to share cars or take more care planning routes on environmental than cost grounds

Cancel out fraud
Most fleet managers will tell you that rising fuel prices also tend to lead to higher levels of fraud among drivers. If you operate a fuel card system and link each card to a vehicle, then fraud is almost impossible. However, if you simply allow drivers to reclaim fuel from receipts submitted, it is all too easy for them to fill up their spouse's car using company money once a month. The administrative burden of a pay-and-reclaim system means that it is unlikely they will ever be caught