Some fleets have started to relax the active management of company car journeys that was widely introduced at the start of the recession, says fleet software market leader CFC Solutions.
The company says that one of the strongest initial reactions to the recession was managers questioning drivers whether journeys were strictly necessary and encouraging them to plan their diaries to minimise mileage and maximise car sharing.
Neville Briggs, managing director at CFC, said: “At the start of the recession, managers in many fleets introduced two dramatic policies – they stopped replacing cars and they started to actively manage journeys. Combined, these measures were very effective in minimising fleet expenditure.
“However, there is obviously a limit to the amount of time that a non-replacement policy can be sustained – vehicles just start to wear out – and we have gradually seen fleets start to replace their oldest cars in the last year, something that has been gradually gaining momentum.
“What is more surprising to us is that a few companies are stopping active journey management. There are fleets within our customer base that reduced their overall mileage by more than a quarter with ease, dramatically cutting fuel and maintenance costs but some are letting this policy slip away.”
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Briggs said that as the economy gradually showed signs of strengthening, it was important that they did not let the lessons of the recession go to waste.
He explained: “Simply by making drivers more responsible for their journeys and questioning their diary planning, fleets have made very worthwhile savings, and it seem to us very early in the potential economic recovery to be letting these policies go.”
