County councils are overpaying their grey fleet drivers on mileage rates by millions of pounds a year, according to a Fleet News investigation.

To read part one of this investigation click here.

Fleet News has also discovered that some NHS Trusts, such as Bristol, are paying grey fleet drivers as much as 58ppm or 45% more than AMAP rates, while others, such as Dorset (see table below) are paying well below AMAP.
 

With such high overpayments, it is no surprise that the number of grey fleet miles covered by public sector employees is huge. According to the OGC, grey fleet makes up more than half of the public sector’s 1.5 billion annual mileage.

“Where mileage is high most alternative forms of travel are cheaper than paying grey fleet drivers,” said Olima. 

According to government estimates, if a council cuts its grey fleet mileage by one million miles it could save £250,000 and reduce CO2 emissions by more than 240 tonnes. 

However, one of the biggest barriers to getting grey fleet drivers out of their cars and into pool or company vehicles is the payments they enjoy. 

“Within the public sector, one of the main barriers causing a lack of uptake of initiatives such as that from the OGC is the significant reimbursement some drivers are receiving,” said Ian Tilbrook, managing director of ING, which supplies lease vehicles to public organisations.

But action is being taken. Under its collaborative fleet procurement project, the OGC has already helped save over £8 million for public sector organisations by reducing their grey fleet mileage. Now it is stepping up its campaign to get more public sector bodies to act.

The Government’s chief sustainability officer William Jordan said: “I would urge all managers responsible for this particular area of public sector expenditure to ensure effective measures are in place to maximise efficiencies, and safeguard employees’ wellbeing.”

His call will meet with resistance however. “The amount councils pay their staff in mileage is a matter for them to decide. When driving is essential for work, it is right that councils should recompense staff, not only for mileage but also for wear and tear on a vehicle,” said a Local Government Association spokesman.

“In some areas, that will cost more than in others. In rural parts, people will be driving much further so wear and tear will be greater. In some places, prices for petrol will be more. Mileage payments have to take these factors into account and will vary accordingly.”

The Potential Savings

If all the councils currently paying above AMAP rates reduced their grey fleet payments to the government-approved level they would save £13.7 million of
taxpayers’ money every year.

(Based on 9.5 million grey fleet miles – the annual grey fleet mileage of West Sussex in 2007; assumes all grey fleet drivers are paid the higher rate.)

Case Study - How West Sussex County Council is leading the way

West Sussex does not incentivise grey fleet drivers – it pays well below AMAP rates. The council started a grey fleet initiative in 2007 after discovering its 6,276 grey fleet drivers were covering 9.5 million miles a year. It introduced measures such as a workplace parking charge to discourage employees driving their cars to work. 

It also increased pool car numbers and utilisation. An inter-site shuttle bus was introduced, as was a pool bike scheme and a staff travel plan was launched. The result: one million fewer grey fleet miles a year; 300 fewer tonnes of CO2 are emitted; and West Sussex council has saved £250,000 a year.
Meanwhile, NHS Dorset, which has 370 lease cars, only pays its 1,500 grey fleet drivers an average of 34.8ppm (over 10,000 miles a year), which is well below the official AMAP rates.
High mileage drivers are given a lease car, while lower mileage grey fleet drivers are offered pool cars.

Philippa Dobinson, lease car adviser for the Trust, said: “Most employees do not think these rates are fair,” she said. “They perceive them as being too low.”
Dobinson’s calculations show that it is slightly more expensive for the Trust to provide a lease vehicle than pay the grey fleet rate. “The only exceptions are those employees who are higher mileage users and have an engine capacity above 1,500cc and then it would cost the Trust more to pay them the standard user rate,” she explained.

“We do have quite a lot of pool vehicles as some employees prefer to use them rather than their own vehicle.
“I think if we insisted on leased or pool vehicles then there would obviously be resistance.”

Click here to read part one.