Eco-driving trial report: February 2022

INDUSTRYECO-DRIVING TRIALREPORT

-FEBRUARY 2022 EDITION-

RESEARCH

FINDINGS

5.5%	1,559	3,606
reduction in fuel use	litres of fuel saved	kilograms GHG
and GHG emissions		emissions avoided

47,301	700,399
trips	kilometres travelled

444	96%
participants	reported their
	driving improved

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INTRODUCTION

What is eco-driving?

We're committed to sustainability and working hard to reduce customer emissions. In order to deliver on our UN Sustainable Development Goals, we are reducing our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and working urgently and comprehensively to achieve net zero GHG emissions by 2050.

While not technically part of our indirect (Scope 3) GHG emissions, we are determined to help our customers drive more sustainably -reducing their emissions and using less fuel. In addition to reducing environmental impact, driving more sustainably is also more affordable.

As it will be some time-possibly around 20301-before electric vehicles (EVs) reach price-parity with internal combustion engine- powered vehicles (ICE), action is urgently needed to help reduce GHG emissions from Australia's current 99% ICE vehicle fleet.

Australia's passenger vehicle fleet is

large (about 15 million2), meaning a modest reduction in fuel consumption could deliver significant GHG emission reduction and make a meaningful contribution towards achieving Australia's net zero target.

Eco-driving complements efforts to electrify the motor vehicle fleet, as well as keeping traffic freely moving and therefore generating lower vehicle emissions, on our road networks. By helping drivers become more aware of surrounding traffic and planning their journey, eco-driving is also safer driving.

1. Source:afr.com/companies/energy/electric-vehicles-set-for-range-parity-with-petrol-cars-by-2024-20220202-p59t79
2. Source:abs.gov.au/statistics/industry/tourism-and-transport/motor-vehicle-census-australia/latest-release#:~:text=There%20were%2020.1%20million%20 registered,up%20from%2020.9%25%20in%202016.

'Eco-driving' involves using a range of techniques and behaviours to lower fuel consumption. Chief amongst these is 'smooth driving', which involves smooth acceleration and braking, and ensuring optimal gear selection for manual vehicles. It also includes techniques such as maintaining correct tyre pressure and removing unnecessary dead-weight.

Techniques include:

• Smooth driving: allows optimal engine speeds, with engines using the smallest amount of fuel possible to achieve the required speed.
• Tyre pressure: tyres are inflated to the correct pressure as per manufacturers recommendations, which ensures that an appropriate amount of tread maintains contact with the road surface.
  Under-inflated tyres are less safe and increased rolling resistance means that more engine power, and therefore fuel, is needed to maintain the desired speed.
• Deadweight removal: not carrying around unnecessary weight. A heavier vehicle requires more energy, and therefore fuel, to achieve and maintain required speed.

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OUR APPROACH

In 2021, we partnered with Australian technology company GOFAR, to run a two-stageeco-driving trial in Queensland.

Stage 1 involved a trial with approximately 50 Transurban employees, with an intention to proceed to a larger Stage 2 trial if this was successful. Both stages involved fitting a telematics device into the on-board diagnostic (OBD2) port, setting up a GOFAR account and smartphone app, and connecting the visual feedback device known as the 'Ray' to the OBD telematics device.

Before we began, rigorous safety, privacy and cyber-security evaluations were undertaken to ensure any potential risks were identified and then eliminated or appropriately managed.

Using a two-stage approach increased the likelihood of success and helped manage risks.

Stage 1-Confirming our approach

Our first phase of research was established to confirm the merits of the technology and identify and resolve any issues before involving our customers.

Transurban employees and contractors from Queensland, who were regular drivers, were invited to participate. Commencing in February 2021 and taking place over four weeks, a total of 46 employees completed the eco-driving trial.

Key lessons learnt and addressed in Stage 2 included ensuring safe cable routing between the 'Ray' and OBD2 port, and providing extra adhesive to attach the 'Ray' to instrument dash.

Stage 2-Comprehensive customer research

Three groups of 30,000 Linkt customers in Queensland were selected as potential participants, targeting those that were frequent users of our network.

The first group was invited to join in mid-April 2021 and we met our target of

500 participants within 24 hours (given this response, no further recruitment activities were undertaken).

Participants were sent a complimentary GOFAR package. Support, including installation instructions, was made available throughout the trial.

Data transmission

Data on engine performance-including fuel consumption-is sent from the vehicle's engine management system to the telematics device inserted into the OBD2 port; from there the information is sent in two second intervals to the cloud-based GOFAR database via a 4G mobile data connection.

Why did people join the study?

Almost 90% of Stage 2 participants were interested in learning about eco-driving techniques, saving money or reducing fuel consumption. A small proportion (11%) saw potential benefits in terms of safer driving.

FIGURE 1: PARTICIPATION

MOTIVATIONS

11%

Safer driving

21%

Reduce fuel consumption

28%

Save money

40%

Learn about eco-driving

About GOFAR

The GOFAR ecosystem has three components:

• a telematics device that plugs into a vehicle's OBD2 port
• the 'Ray' and
• a smartphone app.

The 'Ray' is a small device that is stuck on top of a vehicle's instrument cluster and connected to the OBD port. It uses light and colour to safely communicate to the driver how they are driving.

The aim is to keep the lights on the device blue, which means you are driving optimally. It the light turns red, then drivers know they may be stop-starting too often, braking too harshly, accelerating too aggressively or driving over the speed limit.

Find out more about GOFAR

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FIGURE 2: CUSTOMER VEHICLE AGE

2004-2010

16%

2011-2016

40%

2017-2021

44%

FIGURE 3: STAGE 2 TIMELINE

Customer vehicle type and age

To participate in the trial, customers needed to have a car, ute or SUV which had an OBD2 port (manufactured post-2004). Interestingly, the vast majority (84%) of participating customers had vehicles less than 10 years old, which are generally more fuel-efficient than older models.

Data collection and customer interaction

The GOFAR ecosystem allowed us to capture a comprehensive range of data, including fuel consumption, speed and emissions (Appendix 1).

Participants were given four weeks to

establish a baseline for fuel consumption. We advised participants to initially only connect the telematics unit, not the 'Ray', as to ensure it didn't unduly influence their driving behaviour.

Once the baseline period was complete, the participants entered a five-week education period. They were asked to connect the 'Ray' and three eco-driving 'course' (content) emails were sent (Appendices 2-4). Each email focussed on a specific eco-driving behaviour or technique and contained a short video summarising

the concepts.

Anonymised data were collected and transmitted to GOFAR via the participant's connected phone over the full nine-week duration of the trial. To ensure safety, results did not appear on a participant's GOFAR app until the end of a trip.

The eco-driving trial research produced fuel savings, reduced emissions, and improved customer driving behaviours.

Eco-driving education videos

• 'Smooth driving' (Course 1)- provided guidance on how to reduce harsh braking, keeping a gap of three seconds from the vehicle
  in front.

Watch now

• Tyre pressure (Course 2)-focussedon the importance of ensuring tyres are correctly inflated and associated fuel economy benefits.

Watch now

• Reducing deadweight and drag (Course 3)-addressedremoving extra weight, limiting the use of air conditioning and other electrical equipment and minimising air resistance such as keeping windows closed and removing roof racks when not needed.

	BASELINE PERIOD	WEEK 1	WEEKS 3-4	WEEK 5

1 May-26 May	27 May-2 June	3 June-16 June	16 June-25 June
Participants were asked to	First of three eco-driving emails sent to	Second of three eco-driving	Final email sent with
drive 'normally' to determine	participants. This focused on 'smooth' driving	emails sent focussing on	content on 'deadweight'
'baseline' fuel-efficiency	and also asked for the 'Ray' to be installed	vehicle maintenance	removal

Watch now

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