All 11 vehicles in the refuse collection fleet feature the new Elite+ cab introduced by Dennis Eagle earlier this year, which is designed to improve comfort and convenience for the crew and the safety of everyone around the vehicle
Ten of the RCVs have 6x2 rear-steer narrow chassis with Olympus 19N bodies and Terberg OmniDEL lifts. The other has a 6x2 rear-steer wide chassis with an Olympus 22W Twin-Pack body and a Terberg OmniDEL Triple lift, which will be primarily used for flat collections.
Ubico’s head of fleet operations Ian Bourton said: “We started a 10-year contract for a range of environmental services, including refuse collections, on April 1 after Gloucester City Council became the latest shareholder council in Ubico.
“As they part-own Ubico, it gives the council a lot more control over service provision. We can provide a very flexible approach at a competitive price. But the council could also see the quality of the service Ubico provided to our other shareholders who are all neighbouring local authorities in Gloucestershire and West Oxfordshire.
“The driver and crews like the Dennis Eagle trucks – they are designed and built to be RCVs – and the narrow version with rear-steer makes them very suitable for the tight roads we have in Gloucester. They’ll be more manoeuvrable and more efficient, and they won’t cause such a hold-up to other road users.
“The Olympus bodies are very reliable and the support we get from Dennis Eagle is great – aftermarket is excellent – and the supply chain has held up well against the challenges of the last couple of years.”
The fleet will provide fortnightly collections of both refuse and garden waste to more than 57,000 homes in Gloucester. Each vehicle in the fleet has been fitted with the UbiConnect telematics system, which is Dennis Eagle’s own DE Connect tailored to the needs of Ubico across its operations in the region. The system enables Ubico to manage the fleet with maximum environmental efficiency. This includes minimising fuel consumption and carbon emissions by optimising routes, monitoring and improving driver performance and also managing timely servicing and maintenance.
“We ran a pilot scheme with Cotswold District Council focusing on eco-driver performance and coaching. It saved nearly 14,000 litres of fuel and more than 35 tonnes of carbon using this onboard technology which is a win-win for our shareholder councils and their residents,” said Bourton.