Fuel Purchasing, EZ Pass, and Emergency Phones
Emergency Telephone Number. M.C. Tank now has an emergency phone number that will ring into several cell phones in succession. If you have an emergency, such as an accident, spill, injury, etc., dial 844-4MC-SAFE (844 462-7233).
EZ Pass Transponders. The privilege of having an EZ Pass Transponder may be jeopardized if you speed through the EZ Pass Lane on the toll roads or bridges. The EZ Pass system has the authority to suspend the transponder for at least 30 days. I know that you would prefer to avoid the hassle of carrying enough cash to cover the tolls everyday.
Road Check 2015. This year, on 2-4 June, roughly 10,000 inspectors from state, local and federal enforcement agencies will perform nearly 70,000 inspections on trucks and buses over the 72-hour period. They will be stationed at 1,500 inspection points around North America. This year’s special emphasis will be cargo securement, though inspectors will still be primarily performing full 37-step Level I inspections — the most thorough inspection — throughout the week. This year’s event will take place 2-4 June 2015. In the past, some states have opted to intensify the 72 hour campaign during the week prior to or after the national campaign.
Road Fuel Purchasing. After payroll, fuel is the largest operating cost to trucking companies. Therefore, we monitor and negotiate to find the best prices for fuel. The Fairfield Terminal has a bulk fuel island and will most likely always be the lowest price in the area. We have negotiated with several large fuel stop vendors to get volume pricing. Owner Operators that are using the COMDATA card enjoy the same price that M.C. Tank Transport gets. The discount pricing varies from location to location in some chains and flat rate per gallon discount. Obviously, the more gallons purchased at a particular vendor gives us more clout and buying power. So we are asking you to direct your purchases to Love’s, Flying J, Petro, Pilot, TA, and Wilco Hess when feasible.
In addition to the cost of the fuel, COMDATA charges a transaction fee with each transaction in the amount of $0.90. Regardless if you purchase one drop or 200 gallons $0.90 is added to your purchase. So if you do the math and you purchase 111 gallons of fuel you have in affect added one cent per gallon of fuel. The exceptions are Flying J and Pilot purchases. Both of these fuel stops waive the $0.90 transaction fees.
In an effort to help all of our drivers/contractors to lower the cost of fuel being purchased, we are now set up with COMDATA to be able to use their FleetAdvance mobile app. It is a free mobile app for both Android and Apple products. The mobile app will ask for your COMDATA card number. Once you have entered your card number, you will then have the ability to see the actual discounted fuel price. This price incorporates the discount pricing that we have negotiated on and any future negotiated discounts. Again, this new mobile app will now give you the ability to see what the actual discounted price is. This should help everyone be able to find the lowest price fuel. When you go to your app store, search for the app titled “Fleetadvance”.
If you do not have “Smart Phone” capability you will just have to keep in mind that the price on the marque is not what M.C. Tank Transport is paying for Flying J/Pilot, TA/Petro, Love’s, and Wilco Hess purchases.