Saving Money on Vehicles

If your business maintains a vehicle fleet or provides delivery services, you'll want to investigate how you can save money on fuel. Businesses such as florists, office supplies, travel agencies, auto parts, plumbing, heating, and electrical contractors, lawn and pool maintenance services, and carpet and drapery cleaning services are good candidates for fuel savings. The following sections show you and your employees how to save money and energy by using conventional-fueled vehicles, or by using alternative-fueled vehicles. Other transportation options are also discussed. Besides achieving money and energy savings, these measures will help lessen transportation-related air pollution. Each year the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) publishes a Fuel Economy Guide, which lists the miles per gallon (mpg) ratings for all vehicles available for the new model year. If you are planning to buy new vehicles this year, you may want to review the Guide to help you determine which vehicles are likely to save your company money through lower fuel costs. Your drivers can also be made more aware of ways in which they can drive more effectively to save on fuel. Combining errands into one trip, turning an engine off rather than letting it idle for more than a minute, getting a tune-up regularly, avoiding jackrabbit starts, and not carrying unnecessary weight in vehicles are all ways to save on gasoline. The Guide provides these and other driving hints. The Fuel Economy Guide is available through your automobile dealer, or it can be ordered free of charge from the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Clearinghouse. If you have a fleet of 10 or more vehicles, it is possible that you may be required to comply with either the Clean Air Act or the Energy Policy Act requirements for fleets. These requirements have been put in place to help increase U.S. energy security through increased use of alternative fuels, or to improve our country's air quality. The Energy Policy Act requires the use of alternative fuels such as natural gas, electricity, methanol, ethanol, or propane in certain percentages for some fleets. The Clean Air Act requires that your vehicles meet certain emissions standards through the use of alternative fuels or reformulated gasoline and clean diesel fuel. To find out more about these fuels and to determine whether your fleet must comply, you can call the DOE Alternative Fuels Hotline. Other transportation options may be worth evaluating for use in your business. Helping employees take advantage of mass transit, ride sharing, and alternative work schedules often increases employee morale and loyalty. These options may also translate to good community relations because you're supporting efforts to reduce pollution, dependence on foreign oil, and traffic congestion. Mass transit Encouraging your employees to use rail and bus mass transit is the most effective means of alleviating urban gridlock and air pollution from private vehicles. Ride sharing Car or van pooling can be an effective transportation measure. Check with your local mass transit agency, or your local or state energy office, for information about ride-sharing programs in your area. Alternative work schedules Continuing to grow in popularity, alternative work schedules shift work hours away from peak traffic-flow times, which decreases traffic congestion, commuting time, and driver anxiety. Depending on your type of business, this measure may be appropriate for you.

Myth There are no available and proven alternatives to gasoline or diesel fuel.