Fleet project set to slash refuse truck costs for councils

London's waste authorities could shave millions off their refuse truck bills through greater collaboration and standardisation of their fleet management strategies.


A new initiative launched in the the capital today (February 21) – the first of its kind in the country – aims to save London boroughs at least 10% on the £60m plus they spend each year buying and maintaining a combined fleet of some 6,000 vehicles.

The London Commercial Fleet Project (LCFP) has been two years in development and brings together a set of new products and services designed to encourage standardisation and collaboration across the capital.

The project, which also covers commercial vans and mini-buses, lists 17 core specifications for major vehicle types and offers a new fleet planning tool that uses cloud-based technology for better logistics forecasting.

Authorities will also benefit from using modern ‘e-auction-enabled’ framework contracts to encourage standardisation and collaboration.

The project has been developed in response to research that found among London boroughs a history of piecemeal purchasing, a lack of shared fleets, little evidence of standardisation and collaboration and limited influence on the supplier market.

Project sponsor Will Tuckley, who is also chief executive of the London Borough of Bexley, said: “With financial pressures so acute, London boroughs have recognised that it isn’t sustainable to buy and maintain their fleets without recourse to the bigger picture.

“Through collaboration and co-operation, this innovative project harnesses our collective buying power to deliver significant cashable savings and improve the way we acquire and manage our fleet.”

Maxine Perella

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