Project Summary
Wiltshire Council’s Fleet Team hired a Data Analyst to interrogate the data collected by telematics devices installed on the council’s fleet of vehicles to enable the team to look at how fleet vehicles are used across different teams in the council.
Our Role
The telematics data analytics role was part-funded by the South West Net Zero Hub through our Local Net Zero Fund.
Technology
Electric vehicles and charge points.
Results
The analysis has informed the implementation of Wiltshire Council’s Fleet Strategy and strategic decision making about the overall number of vehicles in the fleet, as well as the number of those that are electric vehicles.
Benefits
Throughout the 12 months the project ran for:
- The baseline number of vehicles in the fleet reduced from 193 to 180. The number of EVs increased from 83 to 99.
- Monthly fossil fuel miles declined from 69,164.6 to 32,190.8. Meanwhile, monthly EV miles declined from 37,028.3 to 33,913.3 – meaning in the baseline fleet more miles are now done in electric vehicles than in fossil fuel-powered ones.
- More trips are now completed using pool vehicles, due to 18 growth vehicles as a result of the project – these journeys were previously carried out in “grey fleet” vehicles (personal cars used for business use) but were transferred to electric pool vehicles, saving the council money and reducing scope 3 carbon emissions.
- Monthly greenhouse gas emissions from the driving of the baseline fleet vehicles were cut by 50% – decreasing from 28.39 CO2e to 14.11 CO2e.
Lessons learned
- Before employing the telematics data analyst, some staff had concerns over range, and were resistant to adopting EVs. Once the team were able to analyse the data it was possible to demonstrate that EVs were more than capable of travelling the distances required. The telematics data was used to put together workshops for managers and staff, demonstrating the work patterns and route planning which would allow for the transition to EV with, in almost all cases, zero impact to service delivery.
- The post holder had some experience in the fleet industry and good computer skills, particularly in Excel, this meant very little training was required and results were produced quickly.
- Buy-in from senior managers across the council was also essential to help the project succeed, in order to support staff with cultural change and adoption of new guidance on fleet use which was produced as part of the project.
Next Steps
Around 100 additional charging points are now being installed, with locations informed by the telematics data. The post now been made permanent to allow work to continue, supporting Wiltshire Council to transition their fleet to be carbon neutral by 2030.
If you work for a public sector organisation and would like to be put in touch with the project team at Wiltshire Council to find out more, please let us know at SWNetZeroHub@westofengland-ca.gov.uk.
