Mileage
In Arabicالمسافة المقطوعة
The distance a vehicle covers in a chosen period, such as a day, trip or month, calculated from GPS positions or read from the vehicle.
What is mileage in fleet management?
Mileage is what a vehicle covered in a period you choose, as opposed to the odometer, which counts its whole life. Tracking systems calculate it in one of two ways: adding up the distance between consecutive GPS positions, or reading the vehicle's own counter over CAN Bus.
The GPS method works on any vehicle but loses some accuracy when messages are far apart or the signal drops. A CAN Bus reading usually matches the vehicle's odometer.
How it works
- 1Tracker sends position or odometer reading
- 2System adds distance between messages
- 3Reports show it per period
Why does mileage matter in fleet management?
Most fleet figures rest on distance: litres per 100 km, cost per kilometre, service intervals and customer billing. A small error spreads into all of them, so a driver is scored unfairly, a service is late or a job is billed below cost.
What you gain
- Basis for cost and fuel figures
- Drives service intervals
- Supports per-km billing
How does Safee help you measure mileage?
Safee calculates mileage for every trip and vehicle automatically and shows it on the Vehicle Dashboard for periods of up to three months, and in the trip reports and the Operation Cost report. Where distance is read from CAN Bus the figures sit close to the vehicle's odometer, which matters if you bill customers by the kilometre.
A field example
A water-tanker operator in Dammam bills municipalities per kilometre and noticed its invoices running below drivers' estimates. Comparing GPS mileage with CAN Bus on ten tankers showed a gap of about 6%, caused by positions being sent only every two minutes. It shortened the reporting interval and switched to CAN Bus readings. Billed kilometres rose 5% with no extra trips.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between mileage and the odometer?
The odometer counts everything since the vehicle was built; mileage is the distance in a period you choose.
Which is more accurate, GPS or CAN Bus mileage?
Usually CAN Bus, because it reads the vehicle's own counter. GPS mileage depends on how often positions are sent and on signal gaps.
Want to put this to work in your fleet?
Talk to a Safee fleet expert about your vehicles and how you operate, and we will suggest what fits.
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