Posts Tagged ‘cheap gas’
Fleets 2.0
Thursday, May 14th, 2009
Keeping your business connected.
Some of the smartest small businesses out there today stay ahead by keeping up with the latest technology. We’ve rounded up a short list of mobile phone applications that we love for fleet businesses on the move:
- Cheap Gas (Free, iPhone): Just like the name says, this application will help you find the cheapest gas nearest to your current location. Powered by our friends at GasBuddy.com, the app will also map the shortest route to the station from your current location.
- FYI Mileage ($4.99, iPhone): Track your business and personal mileage quickly and easily. Application supports multiple drivers and vehicles, and data can be exported to a .CSV or HTML format. Of course, we strongly recommend using the reporting that your fleet card provides to track mileage.
- iXpenseIt ($4.99, iPhone): Simplify daily expense tracking for easy reimbursement of travel expenses. IXpenseIt will store photo receipts, itemize expenses and track them against your allotted budget.
- Rest Area (.99, iPhone): This application will retrieve the closest rest area to your current location, as well as provide detailed information about the area’s facilities.
- Take Me to My Car (Free, iPhone): Like the name says, if you often forget where you parked your big-rig (and who doesn’t?), this application will remember for you. Before you get out of your vehicle, tap to save your current location. Then when you’re ready to leave, start the application for turn-by-turn (with compass!) direction back to your ride. We predict this will be a life-saver at the holiday season.
- TeleNav GPS Navigator (monthly subscription, Blackberry): Turn your Blackberry into a full-fledged GPS, complete with turn-by-turn directions, 3-D maps, and a directory full of information by category.
- WeatherBug (monthly subscription, Blackberry): Check the conditions of the road before you hit it with WeatherBug mobile. Similar to the web version, you can get live, local weather updates and detailed forecasts of what’s to come.
These are just a few of the applications out there that can help you run your business more efficiently. What applications would you recommend adding to this list?
Photo copyright of Johan Larsson under the Creative Commons License
Tags: blackberry, cheap gas, expense tracking, gps navigation, iphone, technology, weather
Posted in Industry News | No Comments »
Find the Cheapest Gas Prices Online
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
Know before you go to save money by finding the lowest gas prices
Gas prices change not only from day-to-day, but from station-to-station. The price can vary by as much as 20% within a few blocks.
By knowing what the average price of gas is in your area, you can pass this information along to your drivers so they don’t fill up on the most expensive gas when a cheaper station is just a few blocks away. Make sure your guys have a fleet card with universal acceptance so they can take advantage of the lowest prices no matter what station they are at.
Bookmark the following sites so you’ll be able to quickly and easily find the cheapest prices in your area:
- GasBuddy.com: Find the day’s highest and lowest prices by entering your zip code or clicking on the interactive map. GasBuddy can also tell you historical prices, calculate the cost of your route and let you know if prices in your area are on the rise or falling.
- MSNAutos.com: Each night MSN Autos analyzes gas prices from more then 90,000 gas stations nation-wide. Enter in your zip code and MSN will tell you the average price for gas in your area, as well as the area’s highs and lows. You’ll get a complete list of prices by station and fuel grade.
- AAA: Similar to GasBuddy and MSNAutos, simply enter in your zip code and get a list of gas prices in your area.
- GasPriceWatch.com: You can perform a basic zip code search to find the cheapest gas, but we also like how you can also search by intersection or specific station brand.
Whichever site you use, it’s important to know what the average price is in your area and to pass it along to your drivers so they’ll know a good deal when they see one and to keep on truckin’ when prices are too high.
Help us add to this list: which sites do you use to find the lowest gas prices?
Photo copyright of riza under the Creative Commons license
Tags: AAA, cheap gas, fleet card, GasBuddy.com, GasPriceWatch.com, lowest gas prices, MSN Autos, universal acceptance
Posted in Fleet Resources, Small Business Help Tips | No Comments »
