Managing a fleet: costs, fuel, maintenance and road safety

1The full cost of a vehicle

A vehicle costs far more than its purchase price. The cost per kilometre combines:

• Fixed costs: depreciation (price − residual value, over the period of use), insurance, registration, driver's salary, equipment (radio, GPS tracking).
• Variable costs: fuel, tyres, maintenance and repairs.

Example. Off-road 4x4 bought for 55,000 USD, resold for 15,000 USD after 5 years, 30,000 km per year. Depreciation: 40,000 / 5 = 8,000 USD per year. Insurance and taxes: 2,000. Driver: 7,200. Equipment and tracking: 600. Fixed costs: 17,800 USD per year, i.e. 0.59 USD/km. Fuel: 14 l/100 km × 30,000 km = 4,200 l × 1.40 USD = 5,880 USD. Tyres and maintenance: 4,500 USD. Variable costs: 10,380 USD, i.e. 0.35 USD/km. Full cost: 28,180 USD per year, about 0.94 USD/km.

At only 15,000 km per year, fixed costs remain almost the same and the cost per kilometre climbs to more than 1.50 USD: an underused vehicle is very expensive.

2Buying, renting or pooling

Three options:

• Purchase: worthwhile for a long (3 years or more) and intensive need, in a country where suitable vehicles are rarely available for rent. Beware of donor rules on vehicle purchases (often subject to prior approval, with origin rules) and on their disposal at the end of the project.
• Rental (with or without driver): flexible, no capital tied up, suited to short or variable needs; more expensive per kilometre in the long term, and the quality and safety of the vehicles must be checked.
• Pooling and internal hire: a pool of vehicles shared between projects, charged per kilometre or per day to each project according to the logbooks. This makes it possible to charge costs fairly to donors.

Comparison. Rental: 2,400 USD per month with driver, fuel extra. The vehicle bought above costs, excluding fuel, (28,180 − 5,880) / 12 ≈ 1,858 USD per month. Over 3 years or more, purchase is cheaper if use is heavy; on a 10-month project, rental avoids the purchase, the disposal and the customs formalities.

3Logbooks and consumption

The logbook is the basic document: for each trip, date, driver, start and end mileage, destination, purpose, passengers, project charged, and fuel refills. It is checked every week by the fleet manager.

Consumption is calculated for each vehicle: litres consumed / kilometres travelled × 100. It is compared with the model's standard and with the previous month.

Control example. Vehicle 1: 2,800 km, 420 l, i.e. 15 l/100 km (standard 13 to 15). Vehicle 2: 2,100 km, 410 l, i.e. 19.5 l/100 km (same model, same area). A 30% difference: possible causes, to be checked before drawing any conclusion: a fault (injectors, filters, under-inflated tyres), trips over difficult terrain, a faulty odometer, or fuel theft. An excess of 4.5 l/100 km over 2,100 km represents about 95 litres per month.

A logbook filled in at the end of the month, in a single hand and with the same pen, is not a logbook: it is a warning sign.

4Fuel management

Fuel is one of the budget lines most exposed to fraud. Essential controls:

• Supply through a framework agreement with a filling station, with numbered fuel vouchers or fuel cards assigned to each vehicle.
• Own storage (drums or tank) only if necessary: receipts and issues register, meter, two keys, weekly inventory by dipping.
• Monthly reconciliation: filling station invoices, signed vouchers, logbooks and consumption per vehicle.
• Generators: hour meter and consumption per hour, reconciled in the same way.

Drum stock example. Opening stock 3,000 l; receipts 8,000 l; recorded issues 9,400 l; final dip reading 1,350 l. Theoretical stock = 3,000 + 8,000 − 9,400 = 1,600 l. Discrepancy = −250 l, i.e. 2.7% of issues: above a tolerance for evaporation and handling of about 0.5%, an investigation is needed.

5Maintenance and life cycle

Preventive maintenance follows a mileage-based schedule (for example an oil change every 5,000 km in severe conditions) and a weekly check by the driver (tyres, brakes, fluid levels, lights, safety equipment). It costs far less than breakdowns on the road, which immobilise a team and can put it in danger.

Replacement takes place according to age and mileage (often 5 years or 150,000 to 200,000 km on difficult terrain), or when the cost of repairs exceeds a threshold. Disposal at the end of the vehicle's life or of the project follows the donor's rules: transfer to another project, to a partner, auction or donation, with an official report and, if the vehicle was imported duty-free, payment or regularisation of the duties.

GPS tracking helps with security (location in the event of an incident) and control (unauthorised trips), but must respect the staff data protection policy and be explained to drivers.

6Road safety

In many contexts, road accidents are a major cause of death and serious injury among humanitarian staff, often more so than violence. The measures that reduce the risk the most:

• Seat belts mandatory for everyone, in every seat, without exception.
• Internal speed limits (for example 80 km/h on the road, 40 in built-up areas), monitored through GPS tracking.
• No night driving outside towns, except for approved emergencies.
• Drivers recruited through a practical test, trained (defensive driving, first aid), with rest periods (no more than 8 to 10 hours of driving per day).
• Zero alcohol and no phone use at the wheel.
• Equipped vehicles: first aid kit, fire extinguisher, means of communication, spare wheel, warning triangle.
• Incident analysis: every accident or near miss is reported and analysed, without a blame culture, to correct the causes.