How do I cut my fleet's fuel consumption?

Fuel is the biggest variable expense of a transport company, often over half the cost per kilometre. It is reduced by measuring, not by promises. Below are the steps that produce results in the first month.

Short answer

Measure real consumption for each vehicle and each driver, in litres per 100 km, not for the fleet as a whole.
Cut idling: every idle hour burns around 2 to 3 litres without covering a single kilometre.
Check tyre pressure monthly; low pressure raises consumption by a few per cent.
Plan routes with fewer empty kilometres and avoid itineraries with frequent stops.
Compare the litres bought with the fuel card against the litres actually consumed, on each trip.

Concrete steps, in order of impact

Collect refuelling data from the fuel card statement and link it to the vehicle and the trip.
Compute litres per 100 km per vehicle, then per driver, on the same route.
Spot differences above 10 per cent between drivers on identical routes and discuss driving style.
Cut empty kilometres by combining orders on the return leg.
Set an idling threshold per trip and monitor it monthly.

Practical example

Example: a fleet of 10 trucks runs 100,000 km a month at an average of 32 litres per 100 km, that is 32,000 litres. A mere 5 per cent cut means 1,600 litres a month, roughly 16,000 lei at a price of 10 lei per litre. That same cut usually comes from idling and tyre pressure alone.

Common mistakes

Tracking the fleet average, which hides the problem vehicle and the problem driver.
Comparing drivers on different routes, with different terrain and load.
Not reconciling refuelling with kilometres, so you miss the suspicious gaps.
Introducing fuel bonuses without objective data, so drivers see them as arbitrary.
Postponing the replacement of worn tyres, which increase rolling resistance.

How 4transports helps

4transports does not record refuelling and has no GPS telemetry: you measure consumption from the fuel card.
The distance in km of each trip, which you enter, gives you the basis for the litres-per-100-km calculation.
Maintenance jobs (tyres, filters) and their costs sit in the vehicle history.