AdVANtage Contractor Newsletter

Fuel discounts
Buy fuel where it’s cheapest with “Fuel Discounts” on dart.net

Kristin Ries, Staff Reporter
With fuel prices constantly changing, wouldn't it be nice to have a little more control over how much you pay at the pump? As a Dart contractor you can find the cheapest places to buy fuel across the country by logging on to Dart’s web site and going to E-Driver "Fuel Discounts."

Contractor Doug Brill uses the "Fuel Discounts" feature on E-Driver to pre-plan where he will buy fuel, and it saves him a lot of money. Doug either calls a friend who has a laptop in his truck, or calls home to his wife, who logs on to Dart's web site to find the cheapest place for him to fuel.

"I used to just get fuel at the same place every time because they had cheaper pump prices, so I thought I was getting a deal," Doug said. "But I realized that sometimes the places with higher pump prices have bigger discounts, making those cheaper places to fuel. That’s the biggest advantage of the 'Fuel Discounts' on Dart’s web site - they are based on discount prices rather than pump prices, so you know exactly what you’re going to be paying for fuel."

Access current fuel prices on dart.net!
(Only available to Dart contractors)

Contractors of the Month

Lloyd Darnell, Sr. - Dallas Operating Center

Cathy Aydelott, Staff Writer
Lloyd Darnell, Sr. has contracted with Dart for three years, and has been in the trucking industry for 19 years. He is currently leasing his second truck through Highway Sales, Inc., and is satisfied.

Lloyd said the biggest changes he’s seen in the industry since he started driving are the change in the hours of service rule and the rising fuel costs. “You’ve got to take the good with the bad, and with Dart I’ve had more good days than bad,” he said.

Lloyd lives in Minden, Louisiana with his family. He and his wife, Mattie, have six daughters, one son, three grandsons, one granddaughter and three great-nieces.

Lloyd also enjoys spending time with his family and fishing.

Steve Drexler - Eagan Operating Center

Kristin Ries, Staff Writer
What’s better than being an owner operator? Being an owner operator from the very first mile.

Steve Drexler has been an owner operator for as long as he’s been driving a truck. And with 22 years of experience, he knows what it takes to run a successful business.

Steve grew up admiring his father’s dedication and hard work. “My dad drove a truck and farmed at the same time,” Steve said with a smile. “Now, my brother farms, and I do the other part.”

Steve came to Dart in 1989 looking for a good, stable company to work with, and that’s exactly what he says he found. Steve hauls in the Twin Cities with a local contract, which means he gets home almost every night.

It’s perfect for Steve because nothing is more important to him than being close to his family and home.

Million Milers with Joyce Jordan and Shelly See, Dart Safety
Compliance Advisor. L to R: Art Reid, Mike Smith, Steven
Schoonover, Rich Richardson, Junior Neville, L.J. Lafleur,
Bill Menkins, and Travis Poole.

Joyce Jordan, Chief Operating Officer - Dallas
Who says a team that sweats together stays together? We do! The Dallas Operating Center Team certainly sweated it out in 101° heat on Saturday, June 9th for Contractor Appreciation Day in Lancaster, TX. Our theme was "Race Into Summer," and the heat didn’t stop this group from having a good time!

There were 105 contractors plus 116 of their family members and 90 employees who joined forces to participate in games like washer tossing, racing remote-control cars, jousting, driving the OOIDA racecar simulator and driving Dart's simulator. The children kept busy with games and the bounce-house with slide.

Thirteen contractors proudly participated in Shine 'N Polish. In the Stock category, the winners were Clarence Thomas for 3rd, place, Vincent Sykes for 2nd place, and John Scott for 1st place. For the Stylin' category the winners were Julian Perez for 3rd place, Mike Hargrove for 2nd place and Dale Bates for 1st. Honorable Mention went to Timothy Skinkle.

Elaine Briles, Director of Safety took the opportunity to emphasize the value Dart places on safe driving records by recognizing our Million Milers. Dart Dallas Operating Center has 39 contractors who have one million or more accident free miles under their belts! Eight of those contractors were present, along with two "Million Miler Alumni" who have retired from trucking. The names of the contractors present were tossed in a fish bowl and Johnny Evans was the proud winner of $300 cash. Other Million Milers present and honored were Rich Richardson, Steven Schoonover, Art Reid, L. J. LaFleur, Dwight Jackson, Martin Rosales, and Michael Smith and the two alumni were Bill Menkins and Travis Pool. Junior Neville, an Eagan contractor, was present and was also recognized.

The Dallas Safety Department held the second annual "Safety Challenge." Participating contractors completed a pre-trip inspection, tested their skills on a log test and completed an obstacle course using the Dart Truck Driving Simulator. August Powers won first place and walked away with $300! Second place ($200) went to Brian Dureault and third place ($100) was awarded to Marvin Hammond.

We were honored to have Don Nehring, an independent contractor leased to FedEx, captain of ATA's Road Team, and representative for Trucker Buddy, as a guest speaker. Don spoke about the return he has received from participating in the Road Team, and thanked Dart for having one of the first Road Team Captains (an independent contractor) who helped pave the way for Don. Check out truckline.org for an informational brochure on America's Road Team.

We realize that the heat may be too much even for Texans (and non-Texans!) so the Contractor Appreciation Day Committee is planning an indoor event in 2007.

THANKS FOR ALL YOU DO FOR DART TRANSIT!