EcoDriving: Insight from a real world fleet-based trial

There is a dearth of rigorous evaluation of ecodrive training, and therefore a lack of certainty as to its benefits in terms of reduced fuel use, particularly for ongoing, real-world driving. Several factors critical to the likelihood of success of instigating an ecodriving program within a corporate fleet, and the ability to assess both the benefits and full range of costs, are tied to the organisation’s management principles, policies and practices. While all proponents of ecodrive training note the importance of such corporate and management factors, no example was found in the literature assessing the reality of actually applying them. Here we describe the experience of trialling an ecodrive training program and monitoring outcomes for six months across four corporate fleets of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles; in two of those fleets the monitored vehicles were driven by dedicated drivers (i.e. one driver per vehicle), a third involved pool vehicles, and the fourth was a mix of fleet types. Initial results provide insight into the impact of ecodrive training and highlight shortcomings with existing management information systems that need to be overcome for organisations to more effectively manage fuel economy. The lessons are relevant for those who market such training, those who seek to apply it, and those tasked with determining whether it is a worthwhile expense and disruption to the business. The insight from this trial also has implications for transport policy formulation, particularly the extent to which ecodrive training might be part of an overall strategy designed to reduce carbon emissions.