Arriva set to save £4,000,000 in annual fleet fuel costs

Arriva, one of Europe’s largest public transport operators and the UK’s second largest bus operator, has installed EconoSpeed on 3,500 buses.

The technology is expected to help reduce costs by around £4,000,000 per year as well as cutting carbon emissions in the UK by up to 37,500 tonnes over the next five years.

The technology, which is designed and manufactured by Zeta Automotive, works by limiting the driver’s ability to accelerate excessively but provides full power when necessary. The technology can reduce fuel usage, cutting costs, resulting in fewer carbon emissions and improving passenger comfort.

Econospeed can be fitted on existing buses, which makes it quicker and more affordable for bus operators to update their fleets. The Econospeed device, which monitors and moderates the signal delivered to the engine control unit, can also be configured and updated remotely, bringing additional savings.

• Devices fitted on 3,500 vehicles
• Saving £4,000,000 on fuel per year
• Saving 37,500 tonnes of CO2 over 5 years

“I am delighted that we’ve now completed the roll-out in the UK. We’ve now got 3,500 buses in the UK fitted with Econospeed – a technology that makes our buses more fuel efficient, helping to cut costs. We expect to see some strong cost savings in the coming years.

“We have bus fleets operating in 13 other countries and our next step is to take Econospeed to some of these markets, including Sweden and Spain. That will mean around another 3,500 buses fitted with Econospeed, a product which is also a key part of our environmental strategy and plan to become a greener business.”

Kevin O’Connor
Managing Director, UK Bus at Arriva

“This is an exciting technology and I am impressed with the results we’ve seen so far. The UK roll-out has gone well, with the co-operation and assistance from our unions and drivers, and I’m convinced we will soon see equally promising results in Sweden and Spain.

This technology has proven potential to help the industry leapfrog from buses that are relatively fuel efficient to fleets that are so fuel efficient that it has a real and positive impact on our operating costs.”

Ian Tarran
Engineering Director, UK Bus at Arriva