A WELSH haulage company which uses vans on its fleet has cut its wasted fuel and over-claimed hours bill by £45,000 a year.

West One Express has installed the VMI (Vehicle Management Information) system from Minorplanet Systems in its 58 vehicles.

General manager Neil Horgan said: ‘We have always focused on being a customer-facing company, having all vehicles distinctively sign-written and all drivers wearing a uniform with a logo and colours to match.

‘However, we needed a system that would give us another unique aspect to offer customers, namely vehicle location. We couldn’t say exactly where our vehicles were without calling a driver and asking.

‘This meant the driver would have to pull over, take the call then continue the journey. This is costly and causes delay – something that can’t be acceptable in our business.’

The company states that other benefits of the system include being able to deter drivers from using the company vehicles for personal use.

Horgan added: ‘We were able deter drivers from visiting barred locations and as a result we have saved more than £15,000 per year in fuel.’