Consumption monitoring

Description / objective

The principal areas in which consumption is monitored by a transport operator are: bus kilometers (in service and deadheading); driver hours (in service and deadheading); fuel and lubricant volumes; tire and retread lives; vehicle materials usage; and workshop labor hours (productive and unproductive).

ITS applications

Monitoring of bus kilometers can be obtained through ITS vehicle location technologies, and these kilometers then used to calibrate data from in-vehicle data capture of driver hours, and other factors from respective control system sources. The instantaneous fuel usage rate can also be calculated from in-vehicle data capture of fuel flows and automated vehicle location data on kilometers run.

Advantages and cautions

Real-time information on their fuel usage rate can enable drivers to improve their performance in this regard, and resultant cost savings can more than justify the necessary technology investment.