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Idle Time

The Engine Is Running. The Ute Isn't Going Anywhere.

Idle time is fuel you buy and never travel on. Protekt measures it per vehicle and per driver so you can see where it happens, decide if it matters, and do something about the part that does.

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Before

You Are Paying for Hours Nobody Drove

A vehicle sitting with the engine on at a site, in a queue, or outside a cafe burns fuel at a rate nobody is measuring. It does not show up as a line on the fuel bill, it just makes the bill bigger.

  • Fuel spend rising with no matching increase in work done
  • No idea which vehicles or drivers account for the idling
  • Engine hours climbing faster than the odometer
  • Servicing coming around sooner than distance would suggest
  • Nothing to point at when you raise it with a driver
After Protekt

Measured, Per Vehicle and Per Driver

Idle events are recorded as they happen, so the total is a measurement rather than an estimate, and you can see who and where.

  • Idle time recorded per vehicle and per driver
  • Idle events shown on the map, so you can see where they cluster
  • Engine hours tracked alongside distance travelled
  • Reports comparing vehicles and periods
  • Alerts when a vehicle idles beyond a threshold you set

How It Works

Measure first, then decide what is worth changing

1

Idle Events Are Recorded

The unit knows when the engine is running and the vehicle is stationary. That combination is logged as it happens.

2

You See Where It Happens

Totals per vehicle and per driver, plus the locations. Idling at a depot gate is a different problem from idling at a customer site.

3

You Do the Sum

Multiply the hours by what your fleet burns and what you pay for diesel. The number is yours, not a brochure average.

What You Can See

Enough detail to act on, not just a number on a dashboard

Idle Time Per Vehicle

Hours idled over any period, so you can rank the fleet and start with whichever vehicle is worst.

Idle Time Per Driver

Two people in the same vehicle can produce very different numbers. Now you know which conversation to have.

Where It Happens

Idle events on the map. Clusters at one site usually mean a process problem rather than a driver problem.

Excess Idle Alerts

Set a threshold and get told when a vehicle sits running longer than that. Useful on machinery more than utes.

Engine Hours

Hours alongside distance, which matters for machinery servicing and for anything billed by the hour.

Trend Over Time

Compare this month to last. If you change something, this is how you find out whether it worked.

Work Out What Your Idling Costs

Your numbers, not ours. Change any of the four and the total moves.

Per litre. Roughly the pump price in August 2026.
How many are in the fleet.
Per vehicle, per working day.
A rough guide: around 1L for a small ute, 2L for a large diesel, 3L or more for a loaded truck with air conditioning running. Your own fuel records are better than any of these.
Per day, whole fleet —
Per year, whole fleet —

Based on 220 working days a year, exc. GST. This is fuel only. It does not count the extra servicing, engine hours or wear that idling also brings.

An estimate, not a quote. It shows what the fuel is worth, not what you would save, because no fleet gets idling to zero. What Protekt does is measure the hours per vehicle and per driver so you can find the ones worth acting on. See the idle report.

Built in Ballarat. Backed by Real People.

Protekt GPS has been Australian-owned and operated since 2015, founded by Matt Penhall and Robert Layton. Every feature is developed in-house by our Ballarat team, your data stays on Australian servers, and we're CyberCert SMB1001 Gold certified.

Meet the team behind Protekt

Find Out Where the Hours Go

Book a demo and we will show you the idle report for a fleet like yours. Or call 1300 95 25 30 and we will talk through what it usually turns up.

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