8newsLaois County Council Plugs InLaois County Council have just taken delivery of a new Alke Electric Utility Vehicle. Fitted with adropside body, the vehicle will mainly be used for rubbish collection from street bins in Portlaoise.Also supplied with thevehicle was a Salt Spreaderand Snow Plough. These areeasily fitted or removed and willbe ready to improve footpathconditions for pedestrianswithin Portlaoise town.John O’Donoghue, SeniorEngineer Roads Section, LaoisCounty Council is delightedwith the Council’s decisionto purchase what is the firstelectric vehicle in the Council’sextensive vehicle fleet. Hesays it is testament to theircommitment to the environmentand other advantages to begained from using electricvehicles in urban areas.The Alke ATX is available in 3different weight categories andis designed to be used in thehardest and most demandingconditions with a load capacityof up to 1000 Kgs and a towingcapacity up to 3000 Kgs,depending on the model chosen.The cost of recharging thevehicle’s batteries to perform afull day’s work is as little as €1.They are ideally suited forurban conditions, such as localauthorities, airports, hospitals,universities, cemeteries, railwaystations, public & private parks& estates, garden nurseries,golf courses, stud farms,hotels, shopping centres andmany more applications.They can also be used indoors andcan be supplied without a cab ifso desired. With zero emissionsand zero noise, the electric vehicleis finally being seriously consideredby many companies to assist withtheir environmental responsibilitiesand enjoy economic benefitsat the same time.VOSA fee changesRevised fees for annual lorry and bus testing and operator licensing came into effect at the beginning of April.For the third year running,VOSA is not applying any generalincrease to most statutory fees– most changes aim to movecosts between customers withno extra revenue for VOSA.Fees for HGV and PSV testingare being adjusted to applya differential between testsconducted at non-VOSA testfacilities and VOSA test facilities– with the “testing element” ofmost fees at non-VOSA facilitiesreducing by 4% before roundingand those at VOSA sites increasingby 4% before rounding to chargemore of the cost of providingVOSA facilities to users of thosefacilities. The “enforcementelement” incorporated inannual test fees (but not retestfees) has not changed.Fees for applications for HGVand PSV operator licences – andfor varying and continuing suchlicences – will rise by 1.6%.VOSA estimates that the overalleffect of the changes to allstatutory fees will, at worst,increase overall operating costsfor operators using VOSAtest facilities by less thanone hundredth of a per cent(0.01%) – but many customersusing ATFs will pay less.VOSA Chief Executive AlastairPeoples said: “We understandthe financial pressures operatorsare under. That is why I amdelighted that we have been ableto avoid any general increase infees for the third year running.“I’m also pleased to announce afee differential for annual testsat non-VOSA sites which movesfurther towards charging thefull cost of VOSA facilities tothose who use those facilities.This will make non-VOSA sitessuch as ATF’s an even moreattractive option for operatorsgetting vehicles tested.”DAF focuses on ATe programmeFor DAF Trucks, the Bedrijfsauto RAI 2012 exhibition, which was recently held in Amsterdam,was all about Advanced Transport Efficiency (ATe), a complete range of solutions tofurther reduce fuel consumption and emissions and improve truck efficiency.Alongside the CF85 andXF105 ATe Edition models, DAFshowcased developments thatform part of its ATe philosophy,including an aerodynamic bodyfor the LF distribution truck and anew lightweight tandem axle.DAF launched its ATe programmein the summer of 2011 with theintroduction of a large numberof enhancements to the 12.9-litre PACCAR MX engine. Theseenhancements, including newpistons, optimised fuel injectionand a unique, fully encapsulatedexhaust manifold unit, ensures3% lower fuel consumptionand lower CO2 emissions.The range of transmissions hasalso been expanded with theaddition of new manual andautomatic 12-speed gearboxes,which allows the driveline to beeven more effectively tailored tothe specific use of the vehicle.In addition, the engine in the CFand XF105 models switches offautomatically after five minutesof idling, and the maximumspeed is limited to 85 insteadof 89 km/h, which saves anadditional 2 to 3% fuel in theinternational transport sector.In order to raise the driver’sawareness of the importanceof driving efficiently, extensiveinformation on the current andachieved fuel consumption isprovided on the central displayon the dashboard as a standard.But ATe is about much morethan just fuel consumption, as isproven by the new maintenancefreebatteries that are installedas standard in the CF and XFfor a longer service life, loweroperational costs and a lowerimpact on the environment.The CF85 and XF105 ATeEdition models that form partof DAF’s ATe programme arespecial versions that have beenfully optimised for low fuelconsumption. They are equippedwith a complete set of side skirts,roof spoilers and side fenders,tyres with a low rolling resistanceand adaptive cruise control. AnAS Tronic automated gearboxwith a shifting strategy fullyoptimised for fuel consumptionis fitted as standard, which onlyallows the driver to change gearhimself when manoeuvring orusing the PACCAR engine brake.All CF85 and XF105 ATe Editionmodels also come with DAFEcoDrive driver training, which,in practice, permanently reducesactual fuel consumption and CO2emissions by 3 to 5% on average.News 6pgs.indd 8 09/05/2012 10:45
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