Getting to Grips with Grey Fleet

Grey fleet is the name given to private vehicles which are used for business travel.

Organisations across the UK are missing a huge opportunity to slash their business travel costs, cut harmful CO₂ and NOx emissions and improve road safety.

Employers are spending around £5.5billion a year on the ‘grey fleet’ – private vehicles that are used for business. Research by the Energy Saving Trust has shown that 12bn miles are driven each year in grey fleet vehicles, emitting 3.5million tonnes of CO₂. These same cars are also responsible for a significant portion of the £2.7bn costs associated with work-related road accidents.

The BVRLA is urging bosses and policymakers to get to grips with grey fleet by targeting a 50% reduction in mileage and costs by 2020.

There are an estimated 14 million grey fleet vehicles on UK roads. Of this total, 11.8 million are associated with the private sector and 2.2 million from the public sector.

In the private sector, the grey fleet costs almost £5bn and covers 11 billion miles, emitting 3.2m tonnes of CO₂ and 7,038 tonnes of NOx.

In the public sector, use of grey fleet vehicles cost the taxpayer £786m per year with the bulk of the 1.5bn miles driven by employees of the NHS, local authorities and civil service. These vehicles emit 447,000 tonnes of CO₂ and 1,118 tonnes of NOx.

A number of companies have achieved significant cost and emissions savings by tackling grey fleet. The report includes case studies from Aylesbury Vale District Council, City of York Council, the Environment Agency, Knight Frank, the London Borough of Croydon, Tusker Direct, the University of Cumbria and Woking Borough Council.