Allstar has helped Kent Police and Essex Police lower fleet costs by more than £60,000 a year and start transitioning to electric cars in an ongoing partnership.

Kent Police and Essex Police will continue to work with Allstar to help with the electrification of its fleet

The two police forces – among the oldest in the UK – cover a combined territory of over 2,800 square miles and serve a population of around 3.5 million people. The forces, which run a 1,600-strong fleet, are already making sustainability a priority and adapting their operations but turned to Allstar back in 2020 to supercharge the EV switch and drive fuel savings.

With officers covering such vast territory, fuel stands as one of the biggest expenses the forces must account for. Kent Police and Essex Police knew that if they could put policies in place that would ensure drivers were filling up at the cheapest forecourts, it would drive down costs and be able to use that saved cash to put towards growing the force. It also needed support in its transition to a zero-emission fleet; by 2035 it aims to have a full EV car fleet.

To realise these goals, three considerations had to be addressed:

1. Coverage – officers could be required at any location within their designated territory at any time, so officers need to know when they are close to a policy-compliant site.
2. Convenience – needing to always be alert and with minimal downtime to search manually, officers needed a solution with a wide network coverage.
3. Insights and Data – meeting commitments to reduce carbon emission output is critical. As it stood, they were seeking reassurance around regulating the environmental impact of their activity.

Kent Police and Essex Police needed an all-encompassing payment solution that could reduce costs, provide extensive fleet management information, and be flexible to suit the forces’ evolving needs through their transition to EV.

Allstar brought its experience in fuel management and payment ecosystems and offered the Allstar Chargepass card, providing an optimum solution for the forces’ unique needs and combined fuel and EV charging capabilities, when in-house charging is not an option.

With the UK’s largest fuel card network, covering 90% of the UK – including all major oil brands and supermarket forecourts – Allstar minimises the need for officers to deviate off route to refuel. Its offering also encompasses the Discount Diesel network of over 1,600 sites.

Equally, Allstar’s EV charging payment network is the UK’s largest and fastest electric charging payment network with more than 22,000 locations nationwide, alongside more than 59,000 chargers. Of this, 86% are fast, rapid and ultra-rapid, ensuring vehicles are back on the road as soon as possible.

Allstar helped the Kent Police and Essex Police forces educate their drivers towards cheaper alternatives and within six months, the practice of officers diverting to cheaper sites was embedded. In the five years since Kent Police and Essex Police forged their relationship with Allstar, they have saved more than £60,000 per year which has enabled them to further invest into the workforces.

The forces also gained access to enhanced management information through Allstar Online, enabling deeper reporting on factors such as spending, fleet status and insights on carbon emissions.

Tony Petts, transport services fleet manager, Kent Police and Essex Police Transport Services, said: “From the very beginning, Allstar has delivered exceptional functionality initially through the Allstar One fuel card and now from Allstar Chargepass too, as well as their overall account management. The cost savings we’ve achieved with their help and through using their Discount Diesel network have been transformational for the workforce.

“We’ve also improved control and visibility of spending, have access to powerful fleet data using their Allstar Online account management tool, and receive crucial information on carbon emissions and ways to limit output. Now we’re futureproofed with a solution that is already supporting our transition to a zero-emission fleet.”

Going forwards, the two police forces will focus on growing their zero-emission fleet. With targets for both cars and vans already in place and underway, Kent Police and Essex Police will continue to work with Allstar to help with the electrification of its fleet.