eyms-greenroad

East Yorkshire Motor Services

Passenger Transport - Customer Story

GreenRoad helps EYMS counteract the rising price of fuel – and more.

We built a high level of motivation and enthusiasm and everyone reaped the rewards, receiving a fuel savings Christmas bonus.

Dave Heptinstall, Chief Engineer at EYMS

THE CHALLENGE

EYMS runs over 300 buses and coaches throughout Hull, East Yorkshire, the North Yorkshire coast and onto the North York Moors. A privately-owned company, EYMS is the UK’s largest independent bus operator. The company has received numerous awards in recognition for consistently high vehicle maintenance standards, significant innovations, training developments, a record of constant investment, service reliability and operating excellence.

EYMS was struggling to counteract the rising price of fuel when it first began looking for solutions. The team investigated a number of options but were attracted to GreenRoad because it did not need to interface with existing telematics and vehicle information. At that time, a significant proportion of the EYMS fleet did not have an Engine Control Unit (ECU).

“We began evaluating systems as a way to reduce our fuel consumption and reach fuel saving targets set by the government in relation to BSOG (Bus Service Operators Grant),” said Dave Heptinstall, Chief Engineer at EYMS. “We quickly appreciated that GreenRoad offered further benefits for us and our customers including reduced collisions and improved passenger comfort. It also gave us the ability to negotiate our insurance premium using GreenRoad’s data to demonstrate the improvement in driving and reduced road incidents.

The Solution

After a wide search, EYMS selected GreenRoad. EYMS initially implemented GreenRoad at its Elloughton depot and then rolled it out across the fleet. In addition, EYMS developed communications, education and policies to support driver behavior change. Its hundreds of drivers all received SAFED (Safe and FuelEfficient Driving) training. “When a new driver joins the team, they spend three weeks in training to teach them how to drive well. But most importantly they are given a GreenRoad account on day one,” said Heptinstall.

GreenRoad’s solution alerts drivers when they depart from safe, smooth driving style, enabling them to immediately modify their driving behavior and encouraging them to take charge of their own improvement and take pride in their achievements. In effect they have a ‘vocal coach’ in the cab.

GreenRoad’s benefits extended beyond fuel savings to include fewer collisions and improved passenger comfort. The reduced claims resulted in $645,000 rebate from QBE.

continued Dave Heptinstall.

The Result

After implementing GreenRoad EYMS achieved a 5% fuel saving which equates to $800,000 in fuel at retail prices ($370,000 savings taking the BSOG into consideration). “We built a high level of motivation and enthusiasm and everyone reaped the rewards, receiving a fuel savings Christmas bonus,” commented Heptinstall.

Within a year, EYMS cut its incident rate to the lowest figure since it started tracking in 2001. EYMS achieved a reduction of 40% driver-fault accidents, a 20% reduction in passenger falls and paid out 20% less in claims.

“We have seen a 1% drop in fuel reduction from using GreenRoad’s idling function but we believe we could educate the drivers further and gain another 1% without impacting traffic,” said Heptinstall. “But our true objective is to get every driver green. And with GreenRoad we are heading the right way.