Impact of Driving Training on Fuel EfficiencyJaspal Singh, Consultant, Star Bus Services Private Limited

Impact of Driving Training on Fuel Efficiency Star Bus Services Pvt. Ltd. (Cluster 1)

Connect Karo (People Transport Cities) April 15, 2013

Delhi Transport Corporation•State owned•Fares set by Government•Gets gap-funding from the Govt.•No ITS for performance monitoring

Private Stage Carriage Bluelines• A few buses per owner• Fares set by Government• Fare box only source of revenue• Entire market risk borne by

operator

Buses in Delhi - Earlier

Changing Face of Private Bus Operation in Delhi

Star Bus Services – Cluster details

• The company will operate 231 buses on 32 routes, mainly concentrated in South Delhi.

• 96 buses being operated so far on 5 routes

• All buses will be Low Floor – 20% air-conditioned buses at the option of Star bus

• All buses fitted with GPS devices and constantly monitored from Central Control Room

• Integrated Voice Announcement System

• Training and re-training program for drivers – both operating and behavioral.

Existing Operations

Star Bus – Performance so far

Fleet Availability (May 2011 – March 2013) - 100%

Operational Efficiency (May 2011 – March 2013) – 99.2%

Total No. of passengers carried – More than 30 Lakhs

No. of passengers per day – More than 1,000 passengers

Revenue per kilometre – Rs. 43.50

Average no. of Passengers (per bus per day) – 1,150

Fuel Efficiency – 2.4 KMKG

Star Bus operates low floor, rear engine, automatic transmission Tata Marcopolo make buses which were procured in May 2011.

Depot Facilities

User Opinion Survey (EMBARQ India)

• 75% users find the service good and want more cluster buses to be introduced on the route.

• 15% of the users are of the opinion that there are very less buses on the route, while a very low percentage of users find the services poor.

Cost Breakup

Fuel (CNG) 50%

Drivers 15%

Maintenance 20%

Others 15%

• Similar to other public transport agencies, fuel constitutes almost 50% of the total operating cost and thus is a major cost component.

• In the first year of operations the fuel efficiency of the buses was an average of 2.5 km/kg. As the buses grew older, the fuel efficiency began deteriorating and presently is approximately 2.4km/kg.

Key Factors Effecting Fuel Performance

There are 3 key factors which effect the fuel performance of the buses.

Driver Training Workshop• EMBARQ India through a renowned driving instructor to impart driver

training to some of the driver s of Star Bus.

• 40 drivers belonging to two routes were identified for training for improving their fuel efficiency and safety.

• The training program was conducted from January 8-11,2013 at Millennium Depot, Delhi, in 2 batches of 20 drivers who underwent 1 day of classroom training and 1 day of practical training along their regular bus routes.

• The field training results which were an improvement of 50-60% over the current fuel efficiency, pleasantly surprised the drivers themselves who were estimating an improvement of about 10 – 20% over their existing performance.

Driving Training Workshop - Photographs

Key Issues Identified

• An overview of automatic transmission technology of which the drivers had very little knowledge and the time taken for the system to switch between gears.

• Measures to prevent air leakage and engine oil leakage.

• The position of the foot on the accelerator pedal which is the prime factor which dictates fuel efficiency

After in-depth analysis and discussion with drivers, the following key issues were identified.

Improvement in Drivers’ Performance

Fuel Efficiency(km/kg)

Number of Drivers

Post Training Pre Training<2.0 0% 3%2.2-2.3 11% 9%2.3-2.4 3% 29%2.4-2.5 24% 14%2.5-2.6 27% 26%2.6-2.7 16% 9%2.7-2.8 11% 6%2.8-2.9 5% 0%2.9-3.0 0% 0%>3.0 3% 6% 100% 100%

Fuel Efficiency Training has brought remarkable results in the performance of Drivers.

• 50% of trained drivers start getting a fuel efficiency of more than 2.5 KMKG.

• Drivers which were getting fuel efficiency of less than 2.0 KMKG, achieved fuel efficiency of 2.2 KMKG.

Driving Training Workshop – Fuel Mileage

Action Taken to Save Fuel!!

• Fixing a benchmark fuel efficiency for each of the routes

• Consistently assigning the trained drivers in pairs on the 2 shifts of the day

• Daily monitoring of data and gentle and motivational counselling of the drivers

• Prominently advertising the most fuel-efficient driver for each month

• Announcing of an incentive program with 35% of the savings from fuel charges to be awarded to the driver as bonus

Star Bus took the following initiatives to internalise the process of achieving excellence.

Way Forward!!

With even small 10% improvement in fuel efficiency, the operator can save 30,000 Kg CNG in a month and 360,000 Kg CNG in a Year.

• Implementation of Fuel Efficiency program for all Drivers in batches, with support from Embarq India.

• Analysis of fuel consumption data for each driver and bus on daily, weekly and monthly basis

• Monitoring of fuel efficiency for each driver on monthly basis.

• Organizing Training Session for drivers to adopt safe driving practices.

• Designing MIS System for maintenance of the buses, with focus on increasing the fuel efficiency of the buses.

Thank You!!!