Abstract

Freight transportation—specifically, fuel consumption during delivery operations—is one of the main contributors to global CO₂ emissions. In this article, we study the effect of eco-driving practices (e.g., avoiding idling, keeping a steady speed) on fuel efficiency and CO₂ emissions. We also explore the effect of a sustained intervention supporting eco-driving on the adoption of eco-driving practices among professional drivers. Transportation companies usually invest resources to train, coach, and reward drivers who practice eco-driving; therefore, our study aims to provide insights into the impact of these efforts. We conducted a comprehensive statistical analysis on data collected from 55 drivers in 150 trips, using GPS records (e.g., geolocation, speed, revolutions per minute) and direct observations, for one of the largest Mexican retailers that operates its own transportation fleet. Our results show that eco-driving contributes to fuel savings at an average of 27.8%, as indicated by the difference in consumption between the high-proficiency and medium-proficiency drivers and low-proficiency drivers, and an average reduction of 13 kg of CO₂ per route. In addition, we observe that the eco-practices of keeping a steady speed and avoiding idling, followed by abrupt accelerations or braking, have a substantial effect on fuel efficiency and, consequently, on CO₂ emissions. Our research also provides managerial insights into the relationship between past driving behaviors and the adoption of eco-driving practices. These findings contribute to the design of efficient company training programs aimed to improve eco-driving practices.

摘要

货运——特别是运输过程中的燃料消耗——是全球 CO ₂排放的主要贡献者之一。在本文中，我们研究了环保驾驶实践（例如，避免怠速、保持车速）对燃油效率和 CO _2的影响排放。我们还探讨了支持生态驾驶的持续干预对专业驾驶员采用生态驾驶实践的影响。运输公司通常会投入资源来培训、指导和奖励实行生态驾驶的司机；因此，我们的研究旨在深入了解这些努力的影响。我们使用 GPS 记录（例如，地理位置、速度、每分钟转数）和直接观察，对拥有自己的运输车队的墨西哥最大零售商之一，对 150 次旅行中从 55 名司机收集的数据进行了全面的统计分析。我们的研究结果表明，生态驾驶平均可节省 27.8% 的燃油，这从高熟练度和中等熟练度驾驶员与低熟练度驾驶员之间的消耗差异可以看出，每条路线_2个。此外，我们观察到保持稳定车速和避免空转以及随后突然加速或制动的生态实践对燃油效率以及因此对 CO ₂排放产生重大影响。我们的研究还提供了有关过去驾驶行为与采用生态驾驶实践之间关系的管理见解。这些发现有助于设计旨在改善生态驾驶实践的高效公司培训计划。