Management of Transport

A member of personnel should be charged with the responsibility of reducing the environmental effects of transport, although this should be undertaken in conjunction with other relevant employees. The Register of Environmental Effects should already have identified the significant effects associated with transport and targets set such as:

• To ensure that all vehicles are regularly maintained and serviced (with emissions testing)
• To look into all possibilities of alternative vehicles and fuel over the next year
• To assess vehicle use and route planning methodologies every 6 months
• To improve the fuel efficiency of the entire fleet (including company cars) by 5% over the next two years
• To encourage at least 50% of all employees to use car pooling systems, public transport, cycling and walking where possible over the next year.

The company needs to focus upon the way it uses its vehicles to achieve targets such as those listed above. This will involve looking at how and why transport is used, engine capacities and route scheduling/planning. This should be constantly reviewed in order to maximise efficiency and thus reduced costs.

The use of company cars

It is often difficult for many companies to change their company car policy because many are included as part of a salary package. The car purchasing policy, for example, could be gradually changed to incorporate a bias towards less polluting cars.

A pack has been produced by Transport 2000 in order to address the issue surrounding commuting. Heathrow airport have implemented a commuting scheme- Free flow Heathrow, which encourages the use of carpooling schemes, pressurising the local bus company to run more frequently, and joining other companies such as London Transport to address the problems of commuting and the environment.

Fuel efficiency

The means by which someone drives can affect fuel consumption up to 20%. Such a startling figure means that this issue should be addressed at the heart of the improvement strategy. Any scheme by which driving is improved should be directed at all drivers and include the Managing Director.

An outline of what the scheme should be composed of is given below:

1. Fuel efficiency improvement target
2. Route planning
3. Use of most fuel efficient vehicle
4. Selection of fuel
5. Monitoring
6. Raising awareness
7. Training

A more detailed checklist for a transport improvement strategy under the 7 points above could incorporate:

• Regular vehicle tuning and servicing
• Regular checking of tyres for wear
• Regular checking of tyre pressure
• Removal of redundant roof racks
• Car sharing/pooling schemes
• Paying mileage rates for company cars and not fuel bills
• Alternatives to travel eg video conferencing
• Removal of unnecessary weight from vehicles
• Training of drivers in fuel efficient driving
• Route planning
• Route scheduling ie. to optimise the use of all vehicles
• Understanding the economical engine speeds
• Monitoring vehicle performance
• Monitoring driver performance
• Analysis of tachograph information
• Fuel efficiency and vehicle purchasing policy
• Investigation into aerodynamics
• Heating of cabs used for sleeping

Devise a transport improvement strategy relevant to your site. Hint: consider the commuting arrangement of employees- is it possible to use public transport/walk/car poll etc; look at the use of the company car fleet (including trucks, vans and lorries).