Tony Munsey, managing director of Knowles and Son comments on their involvement with Guide Friday and explains why they have adopted Autogas, automotive liquefied petroleum gas from Calor Autogas as their preferred fuelling option.
When we discovered from Calor Autogas that Guide Friday were looking for somewhere to refuel their buses with Autogas, we were more than happy to oblige. We already had the tank installed and were conveniently placed next to their bus storage depot, close to their designated tour route. But most importantly we had ample space to allow their buses to drive into the depot so no alterations to the site were necessary.
As a company we have been operating in Oxford as building contractors for over 200 years helping to build and preserve the infrastructure of the Oxford colleges and surrounding historic buildings. Through our work we have had first hand experience of the degrading effects of pollution on these buildings.
This is why we have invested in an on-site bulk tank and are converting and replacing our fleet of vehicles including 54 vans and 30 cars to run on Autogas from Calor Autogas. Because of their support and service infrastructure, Calor Autogas is able to guarantee our tank is automatically topped up so we never run out of fuel. We currently have 10 Autogas vehicles in our fleet and will be replacing our vehicles with Autogas models as soon as their useful service period or lease expires.
By having an on-site refuelling depot, our vehicles, which operate as a back to base fleet, returning to the depot to stock up on materials, can also conveniently fill up with Autogas, saving time and allowing us to control our fleet costs.From a commercial point of view, converting our fleet to run on Autogas not only adds to our environmental credentials it also enables us to make significant fuel cost savings as Autogas retails at half the cost of petrol and diesel. From our own analysis we have estimated that over a three year period we stand to make fuel cost savings of more than £4,000 per vehicle.
This figure will obviously vary depending on the use of each individual vehicle. But by buying our fuel direct from Calor Autogas we make further fuel savings compared to purchasing Autogas at a number of forecourts in Oxford. However for convenience we also use Calor Autogas fuel cards, which give us the flexibility to use the additional refuelling facilities in the area.
We have also taken advantage of the PowerShift grant scheme and have two grants currently pending on two of our new Autogas vehicles. By utilising the scheme we can recoup up to 70 per cent of the cost of conversion or additional cost of an Autogas vehicle.
Coupled with our fuel cost savings, the PowerShift grants will further reduce our payback time for the cost of conversion. One additional factor that helped our decision to move to Autogas was the recent fuel crisis where fuel costs escalated, adding to the cost of running our fleet and disrupting our operations. By operating Autogas vehicles, using bunkered facilities supplied by Calor Autogas, we can keep fuel costs and possible future disruption to a minimum.
By converting our fleet to run on Autogas not only do we benefit from reduced emissions and reduced fuel costs, we also have an increased business advantage as customers, particularly in Oxford, are looking to work with environmentally conscious businesses.
With the assistance of Calor Autogas we have made a long term commitment to Autogas and believe that other businesses in Oxford should follow our lead.
For further information on how to convert your fleet to Autogas contact Calor Autogas on 0800 992200.
Issued on behalf of Calor Autogas by Barkers Public Relations, Kennedy Tower, Snow Hill Queensway, Birmingham B4 6JB. For further information please contact Peter Haddock/Matthew Sutton at Barkers on Tel: 0121 236 9501.
Contact - Claire Petty
For further information call Calor Autogas on 0800 992200
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