Diesel Stops Being a Number the Driver Tells You
Fuel slips arrive without an odometer reading against them. A bus doing eighteen kilometres twice a day and one doing forty look much the same on a pile of bills.
Logged against the trip
At the depot, after the evening run, four things go on the record.
Odometer at start and end
The kilometres that trip actually covered, which is the figure every other number depends on.
Litres filled
With the bill attached, so a slip is tied to a bus and a day rather than to a pile.
What went wrong
A noise, a warning light, a door that will not close. Written down while the driver is still standing there.
The reading that follows
Kilometres per litre by bus and by month. A leak, a habit or a tired engine shows up here first.
Next to what the route earns
Accounts can put fuel and repairs on one bus against what that route collected in the term. That comparison is usually the argument for redrawing a route. Or for parking a vehicle that costs more than it carries. Figures beat opinions.
It is only as good as the readings
Nothing here is measured by a sensor. Somebody reads the dial. Somebody reads the odometer and types it in, and a rounded figure entered from memory at eight in the evening makes the whole calculation soft. Schools that get value out of fuel logs make the reading part of closing the trip, not a thing done later from a slip.
Frequently asked questions
Do we need a device on the bus for this?
No. Odometer readings and fuel bills are entered by your own people. A tracking unit is a separate purchase and a separate decision.
Can we see one bus against another?
Yes, kilometres per litre reads bus by bus and month by month. Two buses on similar routes with different figures is the question worth asking.
Where do servicing and breakdowns sit?
Against the vehicle, with what each repair cost and when it is next due by kilometres or by date. A bus that keeps failing on the same route becomes visible.
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