Take a ride to better fuel use

Bernie Searle has been driving a taxi in the UK for 20 years. Along with 17 other taxi drivers, he took part in Shell’s four-week challenge to save fuel. Drivers used on-board systems that track fuel consumption and monitor the engine, feeding to a central server that helps to assess driver behaviour. They also received driving tips and training.

Taxi drivers who took part in the challenge improved fuel efficiency by an average of 20%*

 “I drive 1,200 miles (1,931 km) a week,” says Bernie. “Fuel is a big cost to my company – so I’m interested in anything that helps to save it.”  As part of the challenge he removed his golf clubs from the boot to lighten the load, avoided opening windows, and drove more smoothly. Over the four weeks he cut his fuel use by 18%.

Bernie has continued with his new approach to driving and is still saving fuel. “I’m sure it can work for anyone,” he says.

Shell has already trained over 200,000 people around the world to help improve their driving behaviour and save fuel. In future, training could potentially be combined with the new on-board systems to help everyday motorists save more.

^{*The 20% fuel consumption saving was based on a fuel efficiency improvement from 28.7 mpg during the competition baseline period (June 2011) to 35.9 over the course of the challenge (July 2011). It is the average of the 18 drivers who took part.}