Jim Bell Coaches
Established in 1992, Jim Bell Coaches operates a mixed fleet of passenger transport vehicles ranging from disabled passenger transport through to 53-seater private hire coaches.
The larger vehicles achieve, on average 9 mpg, resulting in high fuel costs which represent a large percentage of the businesses overall operating costs. Coach company reduces fuel costs with SupaTrak On Board James Bell, Managing Director of Jim Bell Coaches first considered introducing a vehicle tracking solution into his fleet when he heard rumours that his drivers were deviating from their planned routes by up to 50 miles in order to visit locations of their choice. In addition to this, he had suspicions that his drivers were also undertaking private jobs, using the company's vehicle and the company's fuel.
These wayward practices were costing the business unnecessarily and the SupaTrak vehicle tracking solution from CMS SupaTrak has helped Jim Bell Coaches to reduce their fuel costs. James Bell chose CMS SupaTrak to supply the telematics solution after careful consideration and research. He spoke with six other vehicle tracking companies before making his decision, which was ultimately based upon level of service and cost.
James Bell explained that "the service offered by CMS SupaTrak was priced far more competitively than any of the other suppliers and the overall package was far better". The twenty SupaTrak installations were all completed onsite at Jim Bell Coaches by in-house SupaTrak installation engineers.
James Bell commented that the "installation engineer did a really good job". The hardware is all installed discretely inside the dash of the vehicle and is not visible after the installation has been completed. Since having SupaTrak installed and informing all drivers of the new technology, Jim Bell Coaches has seen a "significant reduction in fuel costs", according to James Bell.
The drivers are now keeping to their allocated routes and the personal journeys have now stopped. Inside the operations room at Jim Bell Coaches, a flat screen monitor has been installed which is watched throughout the day to ensure that the drivers are complying with their designated routes. According to James Bell "SupaTrak is also used to help the drivers navigate to their next location. If a driver calls and needs help finding his way, I can look at the screen and direct him straight to his destination."
SupaTrak has also identified another area of vehicle misuse, which was resulting in considerable fuel wastage - engine idling. James Bell found that his drivers were "persistently leaving their engines running when waiting at a location in order to heat their cab."
Using the SupaTrak reporting suite, it is possible to run simple reports that clearly show periods of idling and the frequency of these occurrences for each vehicle in the fleet. Equipped with this information, James Bell was able to confront his drivers and instruct them to avoid engine idling where possible, as understandably there are occasions such as traffic jams where it cannot be avoided. Since briefing his drivers, James Bell has noticed a "dramatic decrease in time spent idling and a reduction in fuel costs too."
