SmartDrive Systems recently completed its Public Transit Fuel Efficiency Study and found that transit fleets can reduce fuel consumption by more than 18% by adopting best practices related to fuel efficiency and ‘eco-driving.’
The study evaluated several hundred transit buses and drivers in the U.S. to assess how driving behaviors affected fuel consumption. Data was compiled by SmartDrive sensors and recorders, and then analyzed.
Drivers were given real-time feedback on their maneuvers and idling patterns, enabling them to adjust driving performance. Post-training performance was then measured, showing ‘substantial reductions in the number and severity of hard accelerations, hard decelerations and hard turns,’ the company says.
‘Our study documented a significant opportunity to increase fuel efficiency by addressing the 84.8 percent of fuel waste that can be improved through softer driving,’ says Jason Palmer, president of SmartDrive.
The company notes that the top 25% of drivers participating in the study improved their fuel economy from 3.87 MPG to 4.59 MPG.
