^SmartWay Transport Partnership U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY Driver Incentives Company Profile Headquarters Location Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Contact: John Sigurdson Fuel Manager (204) 833-0221 jsigurdson @ bison, ca Number of Employees: 1,250 Strategy Category: Miscellaneous Number of Trailers: 1,726 Number of Power Units: 750 Partner Case Study Bison Transport Bison Transport is a truckload carrier headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba with terminals in Calgary, Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, and Mississauga, Ontario. In Canada, Bison operates from Nova Scotia to British Columbia, and also operates in each of the 48 continental U.S. states. Bison Transport successfully employs a fuel economy incentive program that has been operational for just over 2 years. An on-board computer and satellite communication system in every tractor provides the data necessary to implement the program on a timely and accurate basis. The on-board system tracks operations data on a driver-by-driver basis. This is a critical point for Bison because it does a lot of slip seat operations, which means more than one driver uses a specific truck. With the new system, Bison can pinpoint a driver's performance no matter what unit the driver operates or who else operates it. Using historical fuel economy data, the company has established a fuel efficiency target for each of the different tractor types in its fleet. Drivers that exceed this target for a three-month period receive a financial bonus; the more they exceed the target, the larger the bonus. Every driver is eligible for the bonus as long as the target is met. The target has been set so that a certain percentage of drivers already exceed the benchmark. "We pay the bonus every three months. This allows the variations in fuel economy due to weather, load factors and routes to even out somewhat," explains Mr. Sigurdson. The largest benefit from the incentive program has been the increased level of consciousness regarding fuel efficiency. Drivers are now asking how they are doing because the program motivates them to improve performance. www.epa.gov/smartway EPA420-F-06-OI7 ------- |