Analytics: A smarter way to spot high-cost driving routes

For any business that operates vehicles – whether it’s a fleet of vans, a team of field engineers, or local delivery drivers – fuel is one of the largest and most variable operating costs.

But what if the biggest fuel savings weren’t just at the pump, but hidden in the routes your team takes every day? 

With the right data, businesses can look beyond just how much fuel is used and start asking smarter questions: Where is it being used most? Why do some routes cost more than others? And what can we change to reduce fuel spend without compromising performance?

That’s where route analytics comes in.

High-cost routes are journeys that consistently result in higher fuel usage and operating costs. This could be due to:

• Congested roads and stop-start traffic 
• Longer detours or backtracking
• Unplanned refuelling at expensive stations
• Terrain or elevation that increases engine load 2
• Poor scheduling that creates inefficiencies

The difference may be just a few pounds per trip, but over hundreds of journeys, that soon adds up.

Not all inefficiencies are obvious. Many businesses assume that because routes are consistent, they’re cost-effective. But even well-established routes can hide avoidable costs.

Here are a few factors that often go unnoticed: 

1. Unplanned refuelling stops 

Drivers who need to top up mid-route often stop at the nearest station, which may be significantly more expensive than alternatives just minutes away. 

2. Urban congestion

Time spent idling in traffic not only delays delivery but burns unnecessary fuel. Even small delays across multiple vehicles compound costs. 

3. Inefficient sequencing

If job schedules aren’t optimised geographically, your vehicles may end up zigzagging their journey and doubling mileage for no reason. 

4. Driver behaviour

Speeding, harsh braking or acceleration, and prolonged idling all impact fuel efficiency, especially on longer journeys.

Modern routing software and telematics tools now give businesses detailed insights into how their drivers move across networks. This allows you to:

• Identify consistently high-cost journeys
• Compare alternate route options
• Spot frequent bottlenecks or idle points
• Track fuel consumption by route, driver, or vehicle
• Predict peak fuel usage times or seasonal shifts

Many tools also integrate with GPS and vehicle data to show real-time traffic conditions, allowing for dynamic rerouting and savings.

Here’s how businesses are responding:

Re-planning routes based on cost, not just distance

A 2-mile longer route may actually use less fuel if it avoids urban traffic and involves smoother driving conditions.

Assigning more efficient vehicles to high-mileage journeys

If one of your vans is noticeably more fuel-efficient, it makes sense to put it on the routes with the most demand.

Coordinating deliveries or site visits more strategically

Bundling jobs in similar areas can reduce total trips and fuel consumption, especially for field-based services.

Using preferred fuel stops

Some businesses use location-aware tools to direct drivers toward lower-cost stations at optimal points in their route, maximising both time and fuel savings.

It’s one thing to identify high-cost routes, and another to accurately track what’s being spent, by whom, and why.

This is where different fuel card types play a crucial role.

Fuel cards give you clearer visibility into: 

• Where each transaction takes place 
• Which driver or vehicle made the purchase
• How much was spent on each route or job
• Real-time data that supports route-level reporting

Not all fuel cards offer the same features. Choosing the right type of card – based on your routes, vehicles, and fuelling needs – can help you align expense tracking with your analytics efforts.

For example, supermarket-based cards help reduce the cost of each refuelling stop, while cards with usage restrictions (e.g. fuel only) help avoid off-policy spending.

To truly benefit from route-level analysis, your payment and tracking systems should work together. Look for: 

• Cards that offer HMRC-compliant digital invoicing
• Reporting by driver, vehicle or region
• The ability to export data easily into your expense or analytics platform
• Online dashboards that show trends over time

This integrated approach turns your fuel data into a valuable source of operational insight.

Fuel efficiency isn’t just about better driving or cheaper fuel. It’s also about smarter planning.

By using route analytics to highlight where costs are creeping up, and linking that insight with the right fuel card types and payment processes, businesses can spot the inefficiencies they couldn’t see before.

Because when you’re making decisions based on clear data, not guesswork, you can reduce spend, improve efficiency, and get more value from every mile.