FUEL EFFICIENT CABBIE
SHELL LAUNCHES DRIVING EFFICIENCY CHALLENGE TO FIND BRITAIN’S MOST FUEL EFFICIENT CABBIE
Shell has launched Smarter Cab Drivers – aimed at helping British cab drivers become more fuel effi- cient and save money by making simple changes to the way they drive. Working in collaboration with the RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce), the four week driving chal- lenge aims to apply both simple driving tips, as well as spe- cially designed ‘nudges’ to see whether drivers can adapt their behaviour in order to reduce fuel costs.
20 public hire cab driv- ers from ten regions will monitor their fuel efficiency perform- ance as they travel around picking up passengers. From Monday 4th July 2011, their efforts will be tracked in real-time on the Smarter Cab Driv- ers online hub –
www.smartercab-
drivers.com – and on the dedicated cam- paign Twitter feed, @SmarterCabbies, to enable the public to see how easy it can be to make improve- ments in their fuel efficiency.
Smarter Cab Drivers will aim to show that by making quick and easy driving improve- ments (such as avoiding harsh brak- ing or over-revving), drivers can deliver meaningful fuel effi- ciency and cost savings. Last year, Shell’s Smarter Driv- ers challenge focused on family driving activ- ity and showed that the average family can save 27 per cent1
–
equivalent to a poten- tial annual saving of £3102
– on their fuel
bills by adopting smarter driving tips and techniques which reduce fuel consump- tion. If the cab drivers are able to improve their fuel efficiency by as little as 10 per cent, this could be the equivalent to a saving of £1,000 on fuel bills based on their current fuel costs.3
The challenge will investigate whether traditional learning
methods such as Shell’s Smarter Driv- ing tips can be enhanced when com- bined with the RSA’s own ‘steer theory’ techniques – which are designed to rein- force long-term behavioural changes. While all participants have received Shell’s Smarter Driving train- ing and guidance, ten of the cab drivers will also co-create nudges
and reminders throughout the chal- lenge to further encourage their efforts and remind them of their training. In a final report, to be published after the challenge end, the RSA will eval- uate the nationwide awareness campaign and outline the most successful ways to get other cab drivers, and drivers more general- ly, thinking about fuel
efficiency.
Some of the participants in the Smarter Cab Drivers scheme Team Glasgow:
20 DRIVERS ARE DIVIDED INTO TEN
TEAMS Team Norwich:
Adrian Higgins, Jason Broadley Bernie Seale, Rob Elliot
Team Portsmouth: Bob Squires, Mark Weston Team Sheffield:
Ian Barley, Peter Coward
Team Sunderland: Alistair Kent, Robert Barry Team Birmingham: Ansar Mahmood, Arshad Ali Team Bristol: Team London:
QUOTES FROM THE DRIVERS
Ian Barley, 51 – Team Sheffield: “Taxi drivers are always likely to be amongst the most affected by fuel prices and unfortunately, there’s very lit- tle we can do about it. If I can learn some small tips during the Smarter Cab Drivers challenge that are easy for me to implement into my daily working life that will make my fuel go the extra mile, then I’ll be really pleased.”
Alastair Kent, 40 – Team Sunderland: “Since becoming a taxi driver, I have tried to drive my car in a way that will get more miles out of my fuel. However, I am expecting to learn some new and interesting tips during the Shell Smarter Cab Drivers challenge, which I really do want to put to the test. I’m very intrigued to see if this challenge will help me to save money.”
Mark Weston, 53 – Team Portsmouth: “I love my job. Every day I meet so many different people. The down side is that I have been worried about the cost of diesel, prices are only going to increase, so I really do need to do everything that I can to keep my diesel costs in check. This is exactly the reason why I decided to get involved in the Smarter Cab Drivers challenge.”
1 The total cost saving was based on the reduction in litres of fuel used during the six week experiment
2 Calculation based on a two-car family, an average driver driving 3,685 miles per year (RAC 2007), an average of 35 miles per gallon and petrol costing 120 pence per litre 3 Calculated using average monthly fuel costs for cab drivers participating in Shell Smarter Cab Drivers, which range from approx £500 p/m to £900 p/m
PAGE 52 PHTM JULY 2011
Abdi Muse-Mohamed, Pete Tyler John Hurley, Phillip Caston
Team Manchester: John Lydon, Paul McCormick Team Nottingham: Amar Altaf, Amer Alam
Melanie Lane, General Manager, Shell UK Retail, said: “We know fuel prices are high right now so it’s important that we help people save fuel and money. We have research from cam- paigns in different markets to show that by applying simple tips you can save up to 10per cent on your fuel bill, hopefully more. It’s not always easy to do day-to-day, which is why Shell is working with cab driv- ers to understand the challenges drivers face in being more fuel efficient. We hope that as a result of this cam- paign, cab drivers will become vocal advo- cates for fuel efficient driving, and we wish all of our cab drivers the very best of luck in their quest to become the most fuel efficient cabbie.” Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the RSA, said: “We’re very pleased to be working with Shell on the Smarter Cab Drivers project, which gives us a unique opportunity to test the impact of steer theory on driving behaviour for the first time. The science and politics of behaviour change rep- resents a new terrain for business responsi- bility and competitiveness, and it’s encouraging to see companies like Shell looking to demon- strate not just responsibility,
but
thought leadership in the way that they encourage people to change their driving habits and improve their fuel efficiency.” The challenge, which is being supported by the AA, RAC, Environ-
mental Transport Association, the Knowledge and Insti- tute of Advanced Motorists, amongst others, will assess the cab drivers on how fuel efficient their driv- ing is, as well as the improvement they make during the four weeks. All drivers have received training sessions from the AA (Automobile Associa- tion), and Shell specialists to give them the inside track on the easy efficiency improvements they can make to their vehi- cle and the way they drive. During the chal- lenge, 16 of the participants will be equipped with state of the art telemetry tech- nology to track their driving behaviour for them, while a further four drivers will track their performance themselves manually, to see whether a hands-on or automatic approach delivers the greater improvement. Edmund King, Presi- dent of the AA said: “Recent AA/Populus research shows that three quarters of driv- ers are cutting back on journeys or other expenditure as a result of high fuel costs. It is now more important than ever to cut costs by changing your driv- ing style to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. We’re glad that we are working with Shell on the Shell Smarter Cab Drivers challenge – a project that we believe will play a key role in spreading the word about smarter driving far and wide.” To show your support on Twitter use #smartercabdrivers and visit
www.smarter-
cabdrivers.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88
