In general, reduction of fuel consumption for driving purposes can be achieved by changing driver behaviour, enhancing vehicle technology, and by utilizing and improving traffic management systems. Improving driver behaviour is an attractive option because it can be realized at low cost and without a long implementation time. Practical tests show that savings in fuel consumption of 5% to 25% are possible without increasing the travel time or reducing convenience for the driver. In contrast, sporty driving increases fuel consumption by more than 30%. The question formulated in this report is whether the addition of a price mechanism to an in-vehicle support tool for fuel-efficient driving is useful. Pricing mechanisms are imown as the Pay-as-you-Drive concept. An electronic box installed in a vehicle measures the travelled distance, the location, and the time of day. The driver is charged financially based on the recorded information. The charge could be based on the travelled distance only, the travelled distance and location, and the travelled distance, location and time of day. The goal of in-vehicle support is to stimulate fuel-efficient driving by changing the operational behaviour. The general principles suggest that a change of operational behaviour will be most effective if multiple levels of interventions are used, i.e., the on operational, tactical and strategic level of driver behaviour. Furthermore, people do not behave the way they for only one simple reason. Each motive may require a different mechanism in order to change the behaviour. Mechanisms are a raise of consciousness (e.g. show fuel consumption), a change of norms (e.g. speed limits), provide alternatives (e.g. navigation) and provide primes (e.g. for gear shifting). A pricing mechanism could be used to raise consciousness. In order to determine the maximum approached fuel-efficiency increase of existing in-vehicle support tools for fuel-efficient driving, an overview is given of 15 systems. The so-called Fuel-Efficient Support Tool (FEST) scores best for both effect on fuel-efficiency and conformity with the general principles. One may conclude that the fuel-efficient support tool is implicitly and self-organizing, since the fuel-consumption is indirectly measured, and the tool gives advice and alternatives (e.g. turnoff engine) to reduce the fuel consumption. The overview reveals that the maximum fuel-efficiency, as mentioned in the literature, is being approached. However, the tool that approaches this maximum is not yet available on the market and for all remaining tools (including this fuel-efficient support tool) the influence of congestion on the fuel efficiency has not been taken into account during the performed field experiments. Pricing mechanisms could add an extra dimension to the motifs applied in the conventional fuel-efficient support tools. Therefore, an increase in fuel-efficiency with respect to existing in-vehicle support tools for fuel-efficient driving seems to be possible using incorporated pricing-systems. The impact however should be determined. Furthermore, it is strongly recommended that in conjunction with a pricing mechanism driving alternatives (e.g. routes, time of day) should be provided in order to use the full advantage of pricing in a fuel-efficient support tool. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting