The programme is funded by the Department of Transport and trains employees in techniques to help them drive more efficiently and reduce the likelihood of accidents

Research suggests that drivers who complete the course could save the equivalent of 20p per litre, which means a motorist who completes 12,000 miles a year could save up to £250 on fuel.

The price reduction comes as the EST announces that it has trained its 30,000th employee in Smarter Driving, equating to potential savings of more than £7.5m per year for participating businesses across England.

Now the price of Smarter Driving sessions has been reduced from £25 to just £15 per driver for bookings of 100 employees or more, and £20 for smaller bookings.

Bob Saynor, Smarter Driving programme manager, said: ‘Smarter Driving helps companies to cut down their company fuel spend and makes significant reductions to their carbon emissions and green credentials.

‘As a further incentive from April 2013, businesses will be able to save up to 40% towards the cost of training in the new financial year.’

Staff at the University of Manchester have already seen the benefits of Smarter Driving. The institution started training its employees in January 2013 and, following the training, saw an 18% reduction in their fuel consumption.

Andrew Hough, Sustainable Travel Planner at the University of Manchester, said: ‘Nearly 100 of our fleet drivers took part in Smarter Driving Training and the overall feedback was very positive.

‘The driving instructors were really friendly and experienced and their guidance will be used by our staff to save money and carbon both at work and in their private lives.

 ‘We hope to run the training again next year, possibly extending it to staff that use their own vehicles for business journeys.’

Saynor continued: ‘We have seen hundreds of organisations benefit from our Smarter Driving Programme over the last four years. We now hope to reach out to even more businesses to allow them to take advantage of our significantly reduced costs.’

Training sessions start and finish at the workplace and take 50 minutes per person to complete, so disruption to the working day is minimised. Cars, fuel and insurance are provided by the Energy Saving Trust.

For more details on the Smarter Driving programme, email [email protected]