05/08/2008
- Hi-tech driver behaviour aid can reduce accident rates by more than 50%
- System proven to reduce fuel costs and carbon emissions by average of 7%
Stagecoach has launched a six-month trial of a hi-tech in-cab driver system to improve safety, reduce fuel costs and cut carbon emissions.
The initiative has been launched in partnership with GreenRoad Technologies, a leading driver safety company.
Research has found that GreenRoad Safety Center™ can reduce accident rates by more than 50% and reduce fuel costs and CO2 emissions by an average of 7%.
The system improves driver behaviour behind the wheel through an in-vehicle sensor monitoring up to 120 driving manoeuvres, such as speed, braking, acceleration lane handling and turning.
Data is sent in a continuous stream to GreenRoad’s web server and analysed, providing information about a driver’s performance. Instant feedback is given to the driver using red, amber and green lights on the dashboard and optional SMS or email messaging.
Fleet managers and drivers can also access a password-protected web site to review an individual’s driving skills and see recommendations for improvement.
The Stagecoach trial will cover 60 vehicles and more than 100 drivers on the company’s bus network in Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria with the support of local trade union representatives.
Les Warneford, Managing Director of Stagecoach UK Bus, said: “Safety is our top priority. We have a good safety record, but we are committed to further improvement and the trial of this new technology will help improve the skills of our drivers to make our operations even safer.
“Public transport is the greener, smarter way to travel, and we are also working hard to reduce our own carbon footprint. With the continuing high price of oil, more than ever there is a real incentive to follow fuel efficient driving techniques. As well as reducing carbon emissions, it can save money and allow us to invest more in improvements for passengers.”
Aidan Rowsome, Vice President, GreenRoad EMEA, said: “As driving becomes more expensive, buses are becoming a more popular option for consumers in the UK.
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“Stagecoach has already shown leadership by taking measures to improve its eco-credentials, and with GreenRoad it is going even further by reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions – all while ensuring a more comfortable ride for passengers."
Stagecoach invests millions of pounds each year in the training of its driving team and, over the past two years, hundreds of employees have completed a Safe, Skilled and Fuel Efficient Driving programme.
The course, which is externally certificated by the Scottish Qualifications Authority and involves both classroom theory and practical driving, is similar to an advanced driving test.
From September 2008, Stagecoach will launch a programme to ensure all of the company’s 13,500 drivers complete the course as part of a Certificate of Professional Competence.
Stagecoach Group is continuing a major drive to make its own business more sustainable and attract more people to travel by bus, coach, train and tram.
The Group’s wide-ranging strategy includes investment in renewable fuels and cleaner engines, state-of-the-art energy efficient facilities, water and waste recycling initiatives and offering businesses green travel incentives for their employees.
ENDS
For further information, please contact:
Steve Stewart, Director of Corporate Communications
T. 01738 442111 (office) or 07764 774680 (mobile)
E. steven.stewart@stagecoachgroup.com
Rachel Postlethwaite
Breakaway Communications Europe for GreenRoad
T. +44 7949 883636
E. rp@breakawaycom.com
NOTES TO EDITORS
Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group is a leading international public transport group, with extensive operations in the UK, United States and Canada. The company employs 30,000 people, and operates bus, coach, rail, and tram services.
Connecting communities in more than 100 towns and cities, Stagecoach is one of UK’s biggest bus and coach operators. The company runs around 7,000 vehicles from Devon in south-west England to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, carrying around 2 million passengers every day.
Stagecoach services cover many of the UK’s major cities, including Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Sheffield, Hull, Oxford and Cambridge, as well as key shire towns and rural areas. For further information, go to www.stagecoachbus.com.
Current Stagecoach environmental initiatives include:
Renewable energy
Stagecoach has signed a contract to source most of its electricity requirement for its UK bus operations from renewables. Electricity generated from mostly small-scale hydro, as well as on-shore wind and biomass, will provide more than 70% of the company’s required supply, with the remainder coming from cleaner, low-carbon sources. Smart meters are also being installed to help cut energy use as part of the £3.5million contract with Opus Energy. The two-year contract, which will dramatically decrease CO2 emissions, covers electricity supply to around 240 UK sites.
Energy efficiency
Emissions from around 90 of Stagecoach’s workplaces across the UK have been cut by more than a third after the introduction of a hi-tech energy management system. Gas consumption has been slashed by an average of 36%, while CO2 emissions have been cut by more than 6,200 tonnes a year. Developed by Vickers Electronics Ltd, the technology uses self-learning predictive programming, coupled with high accuracy temperature sensing. It takes over the control of the existing heating and delivers improved control, staff comfort and dramatic reductions in energy consumption, saving hundreds of thousands of pounds a year.
Sustainable biofuel
Stagecoach is testing the UK’s first Bio-buses, which run on 100% biodiesel. The bio-fuel is manufactured by Argent Energy Ltd from used cooking oil and other food industry by-products, which are from sustainable sources that do not involve the destruction of natural habitats or compete with the human food chain. The environmental project also allows customers to exchange used cooking oil for discounted bus travel Since the initiative was launched in October 2007, it has cut CO2 emissions from the buses by 80%, saving 550 tonnes of carbon, and more than 21 tonnes of used cooking oil has been recycled.
Fuel additive
Stagecoach uses a next-generation fuel additive, Envirox™, to reduce carbon emissions and improve fuel efficiency. The additive, manufacted by Oxonica, is based on a well-known oxidation catalyst widely used in catalytic converters. The material has been re-engineered using nanotechnology to allow it to be delivered as a fuel-borne catalyst, leading to a cleaner burn within the combustion chamber. The additive has delivered more than a 5% cut in fuel consumption and an associated decrease in vehicle emissions. Stagecoach also currently uses a blend of 5% biodiesel across its 7,000-vehicle UK bus fleet.
Carbon neutral travel
Stagecoach has launched Scotland’s first carbon neutral bus network. The ground-breaking environmental initiative, in partnership Scottish charity Global Trees, will see all of Stagecoach's Fife to Edinburgh bus network become carbon neutral for the next five years. Around 140,000 trees will be planted in the south of Scotland this year, saving 21,500 tonnes in CO2 emissions.
GreenRoad
GreenRoad develops driver safety technologies that stop risky driving before an accident occurs, and dramatically reduce crash rates for fleets and insurance companies.
Its solutions are designed to empower drivers to manage their own safety by giving instantaneous, in-vehicle driver feedback—without invading privacy. Over time, GreenRoad has proven that it can improve driver safety behind the wheel. The result is fewer accidents, lower accident costs, and reduced fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.
GreenRoad is backed by Benchmark Capital, Virgin Green Fund, Amadeus and Balderton Capital.
For more information about GreenRoad, visit www.greenroad.com.
