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First principles assessment
Why introduce freight fleet management?
Demand impacts
Short and long run demand responses
Supply impacts
Financing requirements
Expected impact on key policy objectives
Expected impact on problems
Expected winners and losers
Barriers to implementation
Why introduce freight fleet management?
The impetus for the introduction of effective fleet management systems
comes, very much from hauliers and to a lesser extent their customers.
The financial benefits and improvements to the operation of freight services
are the key drivers. The effective use of these systems can lead to improvements
in fleet efficiency and productivity via reductions in fleet mileage,
operational costs and fuel consumption. Figures from the DfT (2003) suggest
that the minimum saving from effective fleet management systems is in
the region of 5% of overall fuel and labour costs, with 10% a more likely
outcome. The sources of these savings are likely to be:
- On board driver coaching & data recording of the performance of the
driver and vehicles. This results in more economical and safer driving
and identifies any problems with the vehicle which allows preventative
maintenance as opposed to prescriptive maintenance. Taken together these
can lead to reductions in fuel consumption, vehicle maintenance and
insurance premiums (as accident levels are reduced).
- Improved fleet utilisation, leading to reductions in vehicle kms and
driver costs;
- On-board navigation and traffic information - leading to reduced off-route
vehicle mileage and idling in congested areas (by avoiding them); a
reduction in driver costs and a reduction in delivery time so an increase
in productivity (more drops).
There are also a number of benefits for customers, in the shape of improved
service reliability and better co-ordination of deliveries which can lead
to improvements in the whole logistics chain, particularly when systems
offer live vehicle tracking, paperless manifest and proof of delivery.
Demand impacts
The introduction of effective fleet management systems has very important
“side benefits” that include a reduction in fleet mileage,
idling and driver performance which will lead to reductions in congestion,
environmental costs and improvements to safety (better driving styles,
better maintained vehicles and more suitable in-cab communication). These
road freight responses are reflected in the tables below. For the average
road user however, the introduction of an effective road freight fleet
management system is going to have little impact upon their demand patterns
and responses. It should however reduce the incidence of accidents upon
the road and also the levels of congestion.
| Response |
Reductions in road traffic |
Expected in situations |
 |
 |
Change departure time to avoid congestion. |
 |
|
Change route to avoid congestion. |
 |
 |
No impact. |
 |
 |
Possible reduced empty running
due to better information for freight managers. |
 |
|
Reduced cost for road freight
may lead to mode switch from rail freight. |
 |
|
No impact. |
 |
|
No impact. |
 |
=
Weakest possible response, |
 |
=
strongest possible positive response |
 |
= Weakest
possible negative response, |
 |
= strongest
possible negative response |
 |
= No response
|
Short and long run demand responses
The introduction of effective road freight fleet management systems will
change demand for road freight, but once again will not have a significant
impact upon the demand responses of the average road user.
|
=
Weakest possible response, |
|
=
strongest possible positive response |
|
= Weakest
possible negative response, |
|
= strongest
possible negative response |
|
= No response
|
Supply impacts
The introduction of effective road freight fleet management systems will
not have any significant impact on the supply of transport facilities.
Financing requirements
The costs of introduction of road freight fleet management systems will
differ depending upon what features the system has and the size of the
haulier’s fleet to be ‘wired up’. Figures taken from
DfT (2003) suggest that a sophisticated application made up of several
pieces of on-board hardware, networked software and integration with third
party software would typically cost between £1,500 and £3,000
per vehicle, with straightforward vehicle tracking systems costing around
about £1,000.
Expected impact on key policy objectives
The impacts on key policy objectives will differ according to the features
of the fleet management system in place. For the purposes of the tables
below an assumption has been made that an intensive fleet management system
has been put in place.
| Objective |
Scale of contribution |
Comment |
| 
|
|
Improved fleet utilisation, navigational aids and monitoring
of traffic black spots helps reduce off-route vehicle mileage, idling
and time spent making deliveries. Monitoring of driving style and
vehicle performance also bring major benefits. |
| 
|
|
By reducing off-route vehicle mileage and idling. |
| 
|
|
Reduction in off-route vehicle mileage and idling will lead
to reductions in noise and air pollution. |
| 
|
|
No impact. |
|
 |
|
Reduction in off-route vehicle mileage and an improvement in
driving style will improve safety. |
| 
|
|
The improvement in fleet efficiency is likely to stimulate
growth in the overall economy. |
| 
|
|
The financial gains due to improved fleet efficiency are very
likely to outweigh implementation and operational costs. |
|
= Weakest
possible positive contribution, |
|
= strongest
possible positive contribution |
|
= Weakest
possible negative contribution |
|
= strongest
possible negative contribution |
|
=
No contribution |
Expected impact on problems
| Contribution to alleviation of key problems |
| Problem |
Scale of contribution |
Comment |
| Congestion-related delay |
|
Improved fleet utilisation, navigational aids and monitoring
of traffic black spots helps reduce off-route vehicle mileage. In
turn this should benefit other road users who will experience a
reduction in traffic and congestion levels. In the long-term trip
generation may erode such benefits. |
| Congestion-related unreliability |
|
The reduction in off-route vehicle mileage and delivery time,
particularly during the am and pm peak will help improve reliability
for other road users. In the long-term trip generation may erode
such benefits. |
| Community severance |
|
Through reduction of off-route mileage. |
| Visual intrusion |
|
Through reduction of off-route mileage. |
| Lack of amenity |
|
Through reduction of off-route mileage. |
| Global warming |
|
Reduction empty running and idling will help reduce traffic-related
CO2 emissions. In the long-term trip generation may erode such benefits. |
| Local air pollution |
|
Reduction in off-route vehicle mileage and idling will help
reduce emissions of NOx, particulates and other local pollutants. |
| Noise |
|
Reduction in off-route vehicle mileage and idling will help
reduce traffic volumes. |
| Reduction of green space |
|
No impact. |
| Damage to environmentally sensitive sites |
|
No impact. |
| Poor accessibility for those without a car and those with mobility
impairments |
|
No impact. |
| Disproportionate disadvantaging of particular social
or geographic groups |
|
No impact. |
| Number, severity and risk of accidents |
|
Reduction in off-route vehicle mileage, better vehicle maintenance
and improvement in driving style will help reduce the number of
accidents and their severity. |
| Suppression of the potential for economic activity in the area
|
|
Increased freight transport efficiency may help generate overall
economic growth. |
|
= Weakest
possible positive contribution, |
|
= strongest
possible positive contribution |
|
= Weakest
possible negative contribution |
|
= strongest
possible negative contribution |
|
=
No contribution |
Expected winners and losers
The main winners of the introduction of effective road freight fleet
management will be freight hauliers and those receiving and forwarding
freight consignments. From a hauliers’ viewpoint there will be significant
operational savings via reductions in fleet mileage, fuel consumption
and labour costs. For those receiving and forwarding freight consignments
there will be benefits from a more reliable service and potentially shorter
delivery time. In particular there are likely to be benefits to the overall
logistics chain and manufacturing process from being able to know where
exactly freight consignments are, when they will be leaving a depot/plant
and when they will be arriving at a depot/plant.
On a lesser scale there will be benefits for other road users and residents
within urban areas who will benefit from a reduction in excess lorry miles,
idling, safer driving styles and better maintained vehicles that will
result from features such as on-board navigation systems, traffic information
systems, driver monitoring/coaching and vehicle monitoring.
| Winners (there are no losers for this instrument) |
| Group |
Winners / losers |
Comment |
| Large scale freight and commercial traffic |
|
Likely to make substantial operator cost savings and see an
improvement in customer satisfaction. Although rail freight hauliers
may lose some business. In the long-term trip generation may erode
such benefits. |
| Small businesses |
|
Likely to experience an improvement in the reliability and
delivery times of freight consignments. In the long-term trip generation
may erode such benefits. |
| High income car-users |
|
Will tend to benefit from a reduction in congestion levels
within urban areas, although in the long-term trip generation may
erode such benefits. |
| People with a low income |
|
No impact. |
| People with poor access to public transport |
|
No impact. |
| All existing public transport users |
|
Bus based users may benefit from a reduction in congestion
levels within urban areas. In the long-term trip generation may
erode such benefits. |
| People living adjacent to the area targeted |
|
No impact. |
| People making high value, important journeys |
|
Will tend to benefit from a reduction in congestion levels
within urban areas. In the long-term trip generation may erode such
benefits. |
| The average car user |
|
Will tend to benefit from a reduction in congestion levels
within urban areas. In the long-term trip generation may erode such
benefits. |
|
=
weakest possible benefit, |
|
=
strongest benefit |
|
= weakest
possible disbenefet, |
|
= strongest
possible disbenefit |
|
= neither
wins nor loses |
Barriers to implementation
There are a variety of barriers to the implementation of an individualised
marketing campaign.
| Barrier |
Scale |
Comment |
| Legal |
|
There are no legal barriers to implementation. |
| Finance |
|
Costs for a sophisticated system can range from £1,500
to £3,000 per vehicle. Such systems can also be bought on
finance for between £40 and £70 per month. Cheaper,
straightforward vehicle tracking systems cost around £1,000.
However, with likely savings to fuel and labour between 5% and 10%
its felt that the barriers in the medium to long-term will not be
significant. |
| Political |
|
There are no political barriers. |
| Feasibility |
|
Very feasible to implement. |
|
=
minimal barrier, |
|
=
most significant barrier |
Text edited at the Institute for Transport Studies,
University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT
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