Diesel prices have increased substantially over the past year, putting significant pressure on motorcoach operators and their profitability.

The effects are immediate. Every mile costs more, every hour of unnecessary idling costs more, and trips priced months ago may no longer generate the margins originally anticipated.

It’s understandable that much of the conversation turns to fuel surcharges. After all, operators need a way to recover increasing costs, and customers need to understand why transportation prices are changing.

But I think there’s a broader conversation worth having.

Fuel-cost management is about much more than recovering higher prices. It’s about how effectively we manage the entire business.

I’ve spent much of my career operating transportation businesses, including periods when fuel prices rose dramatically and others when they declined just as quickly. Those experiences taught me that while we cannot control diesel prices, we can still influence

how fuel costs affect our businesses.

The question isn’t simply how to respond when prices increase. It’s whether we’ve established the management practices that allow us to respond effectively in the first place.

Fuel Prices Have Always Been Volatile

If you've been in the motorcoach industry for a while, today’s challenges probably feel familiar.

As the chart below shows, diesel prices have fluctuated significantly over the past two decades. We’ve seen dramatic increases followed by equally dramatic declines, sometimes within relatively short periods.

The circumstances behind each increase may differ, but the operational challenge remains largely the same.

When fuel prices rise, profitability comes under pressure. When they fall, the urgency to manage fuel consumption, purchasing, and pricing often fades.

That’s a mistake.

Trying to predict where diesel prices will go next isn’t a particularly reliable business strategy. Building a business that can withstand those fluctuations is.

I believe operators should consistently focus on four areas, regardless of what diesel costs today.

1. Manage Consumption

The first opportunity is also one of the most obvious: how much fuel are we actually consuming, and why?

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I read an article recently about wall-climbing robot swarms being introduced into the U.S. Navy’s fleet maintenance program—an effort aimed at reducing repair delays and improving operational readiness amid ongoing global threats.

One statistic in the article stood out.

According to the author, only about 60% of the Navy’s ships are operational at any given time due to maintenance backlogs. With a fleet of roughly 300 ships, that means approximately 120 vessels are out of service at any given time.

As a citizen, that’s concerning.

As an operator, it’s familiar.

And it raises a broader question—if an organization as sophisticated and well-resourced as the U.S. Navy is managing through this level of fleet downtime…

What does that mean for the rest of us?

It immediately got me thinking about fleet readiness in the ground transportation industry. While 40% out of service is a staggering number, I can recall periods in organizations I’ve led where availability challenges—driven by aging fleets, parts delays, and staffing shortages—combined with increasingly complex vehicle systems that require longer diagnosis times before a wrench is ever turned—created similar pressure.

And yet, here’s the question I kept coming back to:

Do we really measure this?

Fleet utilization—the percentage of vehicles in use on a given day—is tracked closely across most operations.

But what about the inverse?

• What percentage of the fleet is out of service?

• How long are those vehicles down?

• And more importantly… do we understand why?

In many cases, the systems in place don’t make this easy. In some organizations I’ve led, this data wasn’t available at all—or at least not in a way that was actionable.

So we built it ourselves.

Fleet Readiness Isn’t a Maintenance Metric—It’s a Leadership Metric

Too often, fleet readiness is viewed as a function of the maintenance department.

It’s not.

It’s a reflection of leadership.

The Navy example makes that clear. This isn’t just a maintenance issue—it’s a system-level challenge that requires visibility, prioritization, and alignment with leadership.

Because when vehicles are consistently out of service, the impact doesn’t stay in the shop—it shows up everywhere:

• Missed or delayed service

• Increased spare ratios and capital strain

• Dispatcher workarounds that introduce risk

• Driver frustration

• And ultimately, a degraded customer experience

And yet, many organizations don’t have a clear line of sight into the true health of their fleet.

They track utilization.

But they don’t always track availability with intent.

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“I thought EBITDA was a Swedish rock band.”
— Stephanie Stuckey, in her book Unstuck: Rebirth of an American Icon

When Stephanie Stuckey stepped back into leadership at her family’s iconic roadside brand, Stuckey’s Corporation, she openly shared just how steep the financial learning curve was. That now-famous line wasn’t just a joke — it was a moment of vulnerability from a leader learning the financial language of business while rebuilding an American institution.

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This series—You Spoke. We're Addressing.—dives into each of those challenges. One by one, we’ll explore the root causes, share real-world examples, and offer actionable strategies for leaders ready to respond.

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Have you ever considered the origin of the word "dashboard"? According to Wikipedia, the term initially referred to barriers made of wood or leather placed at the front of horse-drawn carriages. These barriers were designed to protect the front seat occupants from mud and debris "dashed" up by the horses' hooves. As personal transportation evolved into "horseless carriages," the dashboard remained to shield passengers from debris kicked up by the front wheels. Over time, as the complexity of these vehicles increased, dashboards became a convenient place to install gauges and other controls, leading to the functionality we recognize today. (2024)

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Today's commercial vehicle dashboards, whether in a Sprinter van or a full-sized coach, include gauges and indicator lights. In addition, these dashboards typically feature numerous switches, knobs, buttons, and other components. While some of this equipment enhances the comfort and convenience of both the driver and passengers, most of it is d…

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In the high-stakes world of ground passenger transportation, punctuality is not just a principle; it is the lifeblood of success. A company's ability to deliver on time reflects its commitment to service and detail, making on-time performance (OTP) a critical key performance indicator (KPI) for providers. Therefore, it is perplexing that employee punctuality remains a significant challenge during business assessments. How can a company meet client expectations and achieve its OTP targets when it fails to prioritize punctuality among its workforce?

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The implications of employee punctuality extend far beyond operational statistics. It is crucial in shaping team members' productivity, morale, and stress levels, especially those whose roles hinge on others arriving promptly. For instance, dispatchers and operations managers experience heightened pressure when drivers are late, while maintenance leaders depend on technicians to arrive as scheduled. A tardy driver creates unnecessary stress for the Operations staff, who must scramble to locate them, reducing precious time for pre-trips and travel and addressing potential issues. This excessive stress can significantly impact the morale of the entire team.

Furthermore, a lack of punctuality can severely damage a company's reputation. It sends a message to clients that the organization is unreliable and lacks the robust processes necessary to deliver quality service, jeopardizing future business opportunities.

From the employees' standpoint, punctuality signifies a strong work ethic and self-discipline, or lack thereof. It sets a professional standard for peers and clients, potentially opening career advancement doors. When evaluating candidates for trainer positions, for example, I always inquire about their punctuality and behavior, as these factors significantly influence my decisions.

So, how can companies foster a culture of punctuality?

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As the P&L leader of a transportation company, one of the most frustrating challenges I encountered was receiving unpaid invoices for services rendered months earlier. These weren’t minor line items—they were often tied to maintenance or operations and could total hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Because accounting wasn’t aware of the original expenditure, they didn’t accrue the cost, and it would appear on our P&L in the month the invoice finally arrived, rather than when the expense was actually incurred.

I referred to these as “ghost invoices.” And just like real ghosts, they always seemed to show up at the worst possible time—usually during an already tough month, making our financial performance look even worse and complicating any recovery plans.

These ghost invoices sparked difficult conversations with my team during monthly review calls. So, how did I handle them? Since Ghostbusters wasn’t an option, I implemented a few practical measures to close the communication gaps an…

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