Saving Gas in SC with GPS Units

South Carolina is trying to save money by buying GPS units to monitor their gas usage.  They are spending 4 million dollars on 12,250 units.  Approximately half of the units will go for public school’s buses and the other half to the Department of Transportation.

The article says that if they can save just a few gallons per bus a day, the savings will pay for the units.  The GPS is suppose to record speed, idling time and acceleration in addition to tracking.  When they see an issue, they can notify the driver.

Although this may sound practical, this is not a feasible way to reduce gas usage.  Can you really save a couple of gallon of gas a day by not idling?  I think they need to focus on the routing aspect.  If they can reduce their route, that is where the real savings will come in.  With the technology that GIS provides, they can be more efficient with their routes.  One way to do this is to reroute on a daily basis.  If a parent can call and notify the school that their child will not be riding for that day, then the can be removed from the database for that day.  The would in return reduce the length of the route.  And by having GPS units in the bus, this will give the drive the ability to follow the new route given to them.

The artile does go on to say that there can be a significant savings for the SCDOT as well.  Islip, NY is referenced as saving 14,000 gallons of gas in three months by using the GPS units.

What do you think?  Read full article…