How to calculate your fleet's real vehicle utilization rate
A vehicle fleet costs money whether it drives or not (insurance, maintenance, depreciation). Without an objective indicator, a rarely-used vehicle can go unnoticed for a long time, simply because nobody has a quantified overview.
Booking count alone isn't enough
Counting a vehicle's bookings says nothing about their length or the distance covered: ten one-hour bookings don't represent the same usage as two full-day bookings.
A rolling window, not since the beginning of time
A utilization rate calculated since the vehicle's purchase dilutes recent changes. A rolling window (the last 30 days, for example) gives a more accurate picture of current usage, useful for deciding whether to keep, replace, or sell a vehicle.
Cross-referencing mileage and utilization rate
A vehicle with a high utilization rate but low mileage suggests short, frequent trips; a low rate with high mileage suggests the opposite. Together, the two indicators tell a story neither one tells alone.
Frequently asked questions
What's a good calculation window for a utilization rate?
A rolling 30-day window is a good compromise: long enough to smooth out one-off variations (holidays, activity spikes), short enough to stay representative of current usage rather than the full history.
Do I need a separate spreadsheet to track this?
If bookings are already recorded somewhere (like in Flotalyo), the utilization rate can be calculated automatically from the same data, with no re-entry or separate spreadsheet to maintain.
Finally see the real utilization rate of every vehicle
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